What is Hygiene and Sanitation?
New technologies are being developed on the one hand and the natural environment continues to be polluted at full speed. These conditions require people and organizations to give more importance to hygiene and this issue enters daily life more than ever. It is of utmost importance that everyone complies with the hygiene conditions in all processes from the raw material used to obtaining the foodstuff, so that everyone can consume safe food.
Hygiene, taking into account the use and purpose of foodstuffs, to ensure safe consumption by people, to take all kinds of measures for cleaning and creating the necessary conditions. In other words, hygiene means that foodstuffs are clean and completely free from disease-causing factors. When the provision and protection of hygienic conditions in the food sector is mentioned, it is understood that during the preparation, processing, packaging, storage, transportation and sale of foodstuffs, the prevention of microbes that may be transmitted from any source is understood.
Sanitation includes the processes for the protection and improvement of human health and the recovery of health in disease states. When it comes to sanitation activities in the food sector, it is to be understood that foodstuffs should be provided with the necessary conditions in order to ensure their physical, chemical and biological reliability and that foodstuffs should be kept away from microorganisms and various contamination that threaten human health. In short, by means of sanitation, foodstuffs are made suitable for human health.
Harmful microorganisms found in humans, animals, water or soil can be carried by kitchen utensils such as cleaning cloths, chopping boards or directly by hands, causing food spoilage, poisoning of humans and various diseases. These dangerous microorganisms can easily spread to other foods during food production.
In spite of all the precautions to be taken, contamination and contamination of foodstuffs is defined as food contamination and occurs due to three factors: physical contamination, chemical contamination and biological contamination. Physical contamination is the mixing of non-nutrient foreign substances into foodstuffs. Chemical contamination is mainly due to pesticides used in agricultural production. Biological contamination is caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, parasites, molds and viruses that breed rapidly due to proper storage of foodstuffs and non-compliance with hygienic conditions. Bacteria transmitted to foodstuffs are the most common microorganisms that cause foodborne diseases and food poisoning.
Apart from these factors, foods are also under the influence of cross contamination that affects hygiene. Cross-contamination is very common in food poisoning. For example, raw or degraded foods quickly produce bacteria. If such foodstuffs are found together with healthy foodstuffs, they cause cross-contamination. The most dangerous points in this regard are tops and cutting boards.
Today, foodborne diseases worldwide are becoming increasingly dangerous. Therefore, hygiene and sanitation of foodstuffs is the most important issue. In order not to harm the human health of the foodstuffs to be consumed, all kinds of measures from food producing companies to consumers have to be taken.
What is ISO TS 13027 Hygiene and Sanitation Standard?
In fact, the concepts of hygiene and sanitation are intertwined and complement each other. In general, hygiene is used today in the same sense as cleaning. However, hygiene has a broader meaning. On the other hand, sanitation, which means health in Latin, focuses on the work done to protect human health and ensure a comfortable life.
Sanitation of food producing companies is important in terms of product safety and consumer health. It is necessary to determine the possible risks in the company, to take the necessary importance and to keep the risks under control and to focus on cleaning and disinfection practices.
The ISO 13027 Hygiene and Sanitation Standard in Food Production Places, known as the Hygiene Standard for short, has been published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard, published by the Turkish Standards Institute in our country under the title of Hygiene and Sanitation - General rules in TS 13027 Food production sites, mainly regulates the following subjects:
- Food production companies
- The company's offices, cafeteria, dishwasher, toilets, showers, dressing and dressing places and social facilities such as these
- Company environment
- Lighting and heating systems
- The company's fuel tanks and fuel systems
- Storage areas and shipping methods of the company
- Tools and equipment used in production activities
- Company employees
- Disinfection and sterilization of the company
- Critical control points for the company
ISO TS 13027 Hygiene and Sanitation Certification
In particular, businesses operating in the following areas are required to obtain ISO TS 13027 Hygiene and Sanitation certification: food manufacturers, restaurants, restaurants, cafes, catering companies, market chains, food packaging companies, food storage companies, logistics companies, food outlets, canteens All companies related to food, buffets and food.
The ISO 13027 Hygiene and Sanitation Standard in Food Production Facilities is designed to provide the basic production and environmental conditions required to produce safe foodstuffs that will not compromise people's health and harm people.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs published the Regulation on Supervision and Control of Food Safety and Quality in 2008. The purpose of this regulation is similarly to determine the technical and hygienic conditions that food manufacturers have to comply with in terms of food safety and quality, and all the enterprises listed above are obliged to comply with these legal regulations.
Certification bodies audit the companies on the subjects covered by the ISO TS 13027 standard and issue ISO TS 13027 certificates if deemed appropriate. The important thing is to determine that the company meets and maintains the necessary conditions according to the audits, tests and analyzes and measurement results. The main benefits of the companies having this certificate are:
- The company's commitment to food safety is proven
- The company complies with the relevant legal regulations.
- Risks that may arise today or in the future are identified
- Strengthens the company image and gains competitive advantage
- Consumer complaints are reduced
- Hygiene and sanitation development of the company is monitored through regular checks
- Employees are kept under control with regular controls
