In the food processing industry, employee uniforms are never just for show. They play an important role in ensuring the safety of the products that workers handle at the food manufacturing plants — there were 34,412 of them at the end of 2018 — in operation across the United States.
Without the right kind of uniforms, as well as proper cleaning and maintenance procedures, employees could contaminate food with dangerous pathogens. And it’s very easy to spread these kinds of microscopic contaminants.
Fortunately, those of us who are involved in the manufacture and care of workplace uniforms have put a lot of thought into effective strategies for preventing food contamination. When it comes to food processing uniforms, there are two primary factors you need to consider:
- What kind of uniforms you need
- How to manage them properly
HACCP-compliant uniforms
The value of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) for food processing and related fields can hardly be understated. In essence, HACCP is a preventative approach to food safety that aims to stop hazards from developing in the first place, rather than detect them after they have already emerged. This involves the proper management of a wide variety of “critical control points” — that is, steps or areas involved in food processing where hazards such as cross contamination could arise.
One of these critical control points is the uniforms worn by employees. To put it another way, the use of appropriate uniforms is an essential part of HACCP compliance.
How do you know if a certain uniform design is HACCP-compliant? They should have specific characteristics:
Sufficiently durable fabric — Food processing uniforms must be washed frequently. Every food processing worker should begin their shift with a clean uniform. This means that the uniforms must be designed to endure many washings without any deterioration of the fabric. Damaged fabric can shed tiny fibers or threads, which could introduce contaminants into the food being processed at the facility.
No pockets above the waist and no buttons anywhere — This isn’t a decorative preference. Pockets and buttons have a habit of trapping bacteria in hard-to-reach areas. Bacteria in these spots may remain after washing and could end up contaminating food. Moreover, buttons sometimes drop off garments unexpectedly, and items stored in pockets can fall out.
Food industry regulations forbid apparel with pockets located north of the waist, but some facilities go the extra mile and mandate uniforms that have no pockets at all. That’s optional, but an apparel company with a wide variety of HACCP-compliant work uniforms should be able to accommodate this style if that’s what you prefer.
Aside from dressing themselves in the proper apparel, employees must also be made aware that certain items they may be in the habit of wearing in their daily lives can interfere with HACCP compliance. For example, employees should be discouraged from wearing jewelry while on the job, as these also tend to harbor bacteria.
Tips for cleaning uniforms
It’s not enough for employees to wear the right kinds of uniforms. Ensuring that uniforms stay clean during use is another part of HACCP compliance that you need to concern yourself with.
Ironically, the cleaning process itself can introduce contaminants. Some companies take great care to wash employee apparel rigorously — only to sabotage these efforts by transporting clean uniforms in unclean carts or tubs. These containers also need to be scrubbed on a routine basis; ideally, they should have liners that are easy to wash or replace. To help you manage these tasks, you may wish to outsource your cleaning responsibilities to a third-party organization that specializes in the washing and handling of workplace apparel.
Another good idea is to have separate containers for clean and dirty uniforms. And what about the lockers or racks used to hang uniforms? Be sure to keep those free of dirt as well. Finally, persons responsible for sorting employee apparel should wear disposable gloves to avoid transmitting contaminants.
Other relevant considerations
Cross contamination — the transfer of pollutants from one substance to another — is one of the biggest threats to food safety. It can happen in a number of ways. One method of contamination occurs when an employee innocently wanders into the wrong area and ends up carrying pathogens back to their workstation.
To combat this problem, many facilities have taken to using color-coded uniforms — for example, employees in one area wear blue industrial shirts, while those assigned to an adjacent area wear white. That makes it obvious to supervisors when an employee is somewhere they shouldn’t be.
You should have replacement apparel readily available for employees who accidentally get their uniforms dirty. If an employee has to keep working with an unclean uniform, they risk contaminating the food they are processing. Don’t make them do that; keep spare apparel nearby for easy access, like coats, smocks, shirts, gloves and any other appropriate items, depending on the requirements of the facility.
To remain HACCP-compliant, food processing facilities should find a reliable supplier of workplace apparel and related accessories that have been designed to meet the demanding standards of this vital industry. Properly designed apparel can prevent many hazards to which processing plants are susceptible.
Jerry Martin is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Prudential Overall Supply, a leading supplier of high-quality work uniforms and textiles for a variety of industries, including the food processing sector. A Clean Green Certified Industrial Laundry Provider, Prudential Overall Supply offers reusable uniforms for rent, lease, and purchase.
