SARAYA is pleased to announce our participation in ISSA /Interclean Amsterdam 2014 from May 6th to 9th. Our brand new washroom amenity lineup will make its appearance at the show. This new amenity lineup is a complete solution for changing washrooms into a hygienic and comfortable space with dispensers for soap, sanitizer, toilet seat cleaner, air freshener, toilet tissue, and paper towels, as well as a dust bin. The design takes a modern approach to interior design with a prominent black and white pattern reminiscent of Japanese brush strokes, both restrained and expressive at the same time to add an elegant flair to the washroom. It is an example of high technology and usability, brilliantly integrated and improves on typical dispensers. Visit the SARAYA booth at 11.405 for a full demonstration of this new washroom amenity line.

The full line of stylish dispensers, amenities and hygiene solutions will debut soon.

Food & Hotel Asia began in 1978 and has been held every 2 years since. Much anticipated both locally and internationally, FHA brings to the market a large number of food and hospitality products from around the world.

With more than 3000 exhibitors from 64 countries/regions participating in FHA 2014, Saraya Hygiene Malaysia was honored to participate in the exhibition too. Saraya Hygiene Malaysia showcased a series of Smart San products, together with tools and dispensers which included CF-5000, IS-9000 stand with monitor display and the WS-3000F an all-in-one hand washing sink with automatic foam soap, water and alcohol jet spray dispensing as the new star of the Saraya global food sanitation line up.

We would like to thank everybody who visited us at our booth during the exhibition and would love to hear from your response to us soon!

Saraya (Shanghai) Biotech Co., Ltd. exhibited in China Clean Expo from March 31 to April 2, 2014, in Shanghai. Visitors were shown a huge range of Saraya products from food sanitation to public hygiene. The Smart San food sanitation chemical line was accompanied by the new WS-3000F hand hygiene station with sensor water, foam soap and alcohol sanitizer spray for automated hand hygiene. Public Hygiene featured a new Pinky Peach fragranced foam soap and new washroom amenities.

China Clean Expo is the largest exposition for cleaning products in Asia, which gathered over 10,000 global visitors this year. Our booth was fortunate to be visited by 200 people including buyers of large commercial complexes. We would like to thank everybody who visited us at our booth during the expo!

Saraya is pleased to announce the opening of a new website for the upcoming washroom amenity lineup Sanilavo. Created for usability with a sense for modern interior design this compact amenity lineup is a complete solution for changing any washroom into a hygienic and comfortable space. The amenities feature a prominent black and white pattern reminiscent of Japanese brush strokes and debuts this August. You will be able to see and experience this stylish lineup in ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam 2014 from May 6th to 9th prior to its official launch.

Please come visit us at our booth at 11.405 as well as our Sanilavo site at : https://www.sanilavo.com/

Saraya is proud to announce its successful attendance at the ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam 2014 held for 4 days from May 6th through May 9th. More than 650 companies worldwide exhibited at the event which attracted 28,000 international visitors from 130 countries this year. Saraya mainly showcased our new washroom amenity lineup "Sanilavo" which will debut in August. Its black and white stylish design reminiscent of Japanese brush strokes caught visitors' eyes and we were fortunate to be visited by as many as 350 people. Visitors showed great interest in the line up's usability as well as the model washroom built into the booth showing off Sanilavo's total washroom coordination.

We would like to thank everybody who visited our booth during the exhibition. Also, we appreciate your patience until Sanilavo's official release in August!

For more on Sanilavo, please visit at https://www.sanilavo.com/

Saraya Australia Pty Ltd participated in Food Pro 2014 held in Melbourne from 22nd June 2014. More than 300 companies exhibited at the event. Food Pro is one of the longest-running trade shows in Australia. The exhibition has been a feature of the Australian food manufacturing and processing industry since the 1960s and has been held every 3 years. Saraya Australia showcased a series of Smart-San sanitizers and hands soaps together with MD-201, UD-9000, MD-9000, HDI-9000 dispensers. We were fortunate to be visited by more than 100 companies, and we would like to thank everybody who visited us at our booth.

SARAYA is proud to announce the release of the new washroom amenity lineup, Sanilavo. We have already showcased the lineup in exhibitions such as ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam and received a favorable reception. We are very pleased to finally release Sanilavo.

Sanilavo was created for usability with a sense of modern interior design. This compact lineup is a complete solution for changing any washroom into a hygienic and comfortable space. The amenities feature a prominent black and white pattern reminiscent of Japanese brush strokes and its handwritten logo made by a popular calligrapher, Mariko Kinoshita, adds both restrained and expressive impression.

Please visit our Sanilavo website at www.sanilavo.com to learn more about the lineup.

On May 1st, Expo Milano 2015 newly opened, welcoming guests to its global pavilions. SARAYA is proud to be a supporter of the Japanese Pavilion where visitors can get to experience and learn about Japanese agriculture, forestry and fishery industries and enjoy real Japanese food service at the food court and restaurants. Throughout the Expo, SARAYA is contributing to food safety through hygiene and sanitation, including food sanitation management support based on HACCP along with environmentally friendly detergents and sanitizers.

Also, our washroom amenity series, Sanilavo, has been installed in the washrooms adding elegant flare.

Expo Milano 2015 will be held until October 31, 2015. So there is still time to grab a ticket to Italy and check out the amazing Japan Pavilion.

Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance!

Saraya Australia is proud to announce their Smart-Step Footwear Sanitizer has been selected as a finalist in the 2015 Food Magazine Awards for the category of Food Safety and Innovation in Non-Food products. We are excited to have this innovative and unique product recognized for its contribution to food safety and manufacturing.

You can find the Smart-Step Footwear Sanitizer on Food Magazine's website along with the other finalists in every category. http://www.foodmag.com.au/news/2015-food-magazine-award-finalists-revealed

The Smart-Step Footwear Sanitizer is used in HACCP certified factories for the cleaning sanitizing of footwear before entering the production area. Available in multiple designs and layouts, the Smart-Step is an excellent alternative to wading through the stagnant water of a typical boot wash pool, encouraging a cleaner environment and accurate footwear sanitizing.

Mark Smith worked hard to submit the Smart-Step to Food Magazine while negotiating sales of the product and Saraya Australia's wide lineup of hygiene and sanitation products. SAU hopes the increased visibility on Food Magazine will bring more success to the many innovative food sanitation products in the Saraya line up.

Please come back for the latest news regarding SAU's position in the 2015 Food Magazine Awards.

From November 11th to the 13th, SARAYA's food sanitation instructors in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Malaysia gathered in Japan to take a "Train-the-Trainer/HACCP Course" conducted by the Japan HACCP Training Center.

The training is aimed to develop instructors who are not just internationally recognized but also can be a trainer. Our instructors learned important points and skills to train others on HACCP effectively in a way that is easy to understand for trainees. Lecturers were Mr. Warren Stone and Ms. Ai Kataoka from GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association).

International food safety management certifications such as FSSC22000, SQF, BRC and Global G.A.P are all rooted in HACCP. That is why we decided to take this training to deepen our knowledge and obtain the latest information on HACCP so we can provide better service to our customers.

All our instructors who attended the training received the certificate. After all the registration processes have been completed, our instructors will be accredited as Lead Instructor by IHA (The International HACCP alliance).

We are delighted that now our instructors are internationally recognized and that we can support our customers with even better service and easier to understand instructions.

We are pleased to announce our participation in ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam 2016, held from May 10 to 13, 2016. The ISSA/Interclean is one of the biggest trade shows for the professional cleaning industry, which is held every 2 years and a perfect venue for us to showcase our full line of hygiene and sanitation amenities.

This year our booth includes washroom amenities, hand hygiene dispensers, soaps and sanitizers including the Sanilavo washroom amenity lineup, and ELEFOAM, the stylish no-touch foam soap dispenser. Visit our booth and find out how our products can turn any washroom into a stylish and comfortable space in our model washroom built into the booth. Today, May 13 is the last day of the show. Come along and don't miss your chance to learn how a real washroom experience should be.

Saraya Australia Pty Ltd participated in Foodpro, Australia’s premiere food manufacturing trade show. Held only once every 3 years, Saraya Australia joined from July 16th to the 19th in Melbourne.

This was the first time we introduced the Sanistar slightly acidic electrolyzed water sanitation system to Australia. Thank you for visiting our stand. It was a great time to share our company and products.

We are happy to share that SARAYA professional products are supporting the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Hand　soap,　alcohol　sanitizer,　kitchen　detergent,　as well as other items are in use in the kitchens and cafeterias, protecting the athletes and observers from foodborne illness.

We are proud to support the Olympic Games through hygiene and sanitation. You can find some pictures below behind the scenes at the Olympics.

Saraya Co., Ltd. is pleased to inform the start of our efforts on food sanitation in the East Africa region after receiving from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) the new "Africa food value chain problem-solving market development" project, carried out in cooperation with "KAI Global Limited" (head office in Nairobi, Kenya) and "COTS COTS LTD" (Kampala, Uganda).

Currently, in the East African countries, the cold chain for transporting goods is underdeveloped, with food transported in Styrofoam box packed with ice and low-temperature vehicles being very limited. The amount of food loss occurring during the transport from harvest to consumption has become a major issue, and the establishment of new food distribution systems is required.

Saraya will be visiting each local fishing village in cooperation with "KAI GLOBAL Limited", check the fish species, catch amount and actual distribution situation. After, a transport test from the port of Kenya to both Nairobi and Kampala will be carried, transporting marine products fished at the port, aiming to build an effective and efficient food value chain.

Also, marine products transported to Kampala will be provided and processed at the Japanese restaurant "Yamasen" operated by "COTS COTS LTD", where Saraya already provide safe and high-quality foods by introducing sanitary processing equipment such as slightly acidic electrolyzed water generator (Sanistar) and a rapid freezer (Rapid Freezer). Future food processing business development in neighboring countries in East Africa is being considered.

Since 2012 Saraya has been present in East Africa with the "100% Hospital Hand Hygiene Project", aiming at educating medical staff and expanding the use of alcohol hand sanitizers. After 2014 also local production in Uganda of Saraya's hand sanitizers started, and in 2016 we received a project from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) called "2nd SME Development Project", where we developed a food value chain in Cambodia, giving us the experience and know-how that can be utilized in East Africa.

The African market is expected to increase in population and income in the future, also increasing Japanese cuisine demand. Saraya, supporting local investment and using the Japanese restaurant "Yamasen" as a model case, wants to improve quality food hygiene and food sanitation, following the example of medical sanitation in East Africa.

Company Profiles:

KAI GLOBAL Limited
Head office location: P.O.BOX 52663-00100 A2 Kindaruma Business Centre, Kindaruma Rd., Kilimani, Nairobi, Kenya
Business: Distribution and sale of fresh fish, manufacture and sale of sushi, distribution and sale of rice.

COTS COTS LTD.
Head office location: P.O. Box 10144, Kampala, Uganda
Business: Consulting of Japanese restaurants, tenant business, agricultural production/processing/distribution/sales, microfinance for farmers, developing country support.

Saraya Manufacturing (U) Ltd.
Head office location: P.O. Box 23740, Plot 6C, Seventh Street, Industrial Area, Kampala, Uganda
Business: Manufacture and sale of hygiene products, sanitation management service provided.

* The information of each news release is the one at the time of the presentation, which may differ from the current situation.

Good news from Saraya Hong Kong! Saraya has been awarded a 2 years contract to supply Liquid Hand Soap to Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR), both their stations and the head office building.

The MTR is a major public transport network, consisting of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centered on an 11-line rapid transit network serving the urbanized areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. With over 5.5 million passengers on an average weekday, it is the most popular transport option in Hong Kong.

Saraya will be supplying the GMP190B Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap (5L), manufactured by Saraya Goodmaid. GMP190B is a low cost, high-quality soap that passed the antibacterial efficacy test, the micro bio-organism test and the biodegradability test.

The award of this contract proves the competitiveness of our product and the market recognition of Saraya. Using this case as a reference, we aim to compete for other bids in the future.

On February 6, 2019, and continuing our efforts to improve food sanitation in the East Africa region, Uganda’s first Food Safety Forum was held at Yamasen Japanese restaurant to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Rapid Freezer.

This tasting session, which was the last event of the “African Food Value Chain Problem: Solving the Market Development 2019” held by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture. Around 30 participants joined from around Uganda, including members from Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, to local government officials, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and wholesale and restaurant owners.

Fresh Yellowfin Tuna from Kenya; Fresh ingredients from Uganda

From the sea to your table. How fresh fish is transported from Kenya to Uganda while maintaining its taste thanks to Rapid Freezer.

In the first half of the event, a palatability test was carried out with mangos, tomatoes and tuna fish comparing Regular Freezing (A) with SARAYA’s Rapid Freezing (B). 

Tuna, Tomatos and magoes divided between regular freezing (A) and rapid freezing (B).

Participants completing the taste test. On the right, Robinah, Saraya Uganda Lead Hygiene Manager, acting as the moderator of the event.

To the question “Which food tastes better, A or B? Most responded B, demonstrating the effectiveness of our rapid freezing technology to maintain the freshness and taste of any ingredient.

 In the second part of the event we offered a special menu from Yamasen, where all the ingredients and dishes were processed with the Rapid Freezer to assure absolute freshness.”

Menu: Tataki Smoked Tuna YFC (Yamasen Fried Chiken) Sumibiyaki grilled beef Tempura Crunchy Tilapia with puffed rice Houji-cha panna cotta

Using Yamasen as a model of food safety and quality, Saraya Uganda will continue to develop the Food Value Chain (FVC) for restaurants and consumers all over Uganda and East Africa.

Chef Yamaguchi removing ingredients for the tasting event from a Rapid Freezer. Chicken, Okra tempura and Crunchy tilapia where some of the foods processed with our fast freeze system. 

News about our rapid freezer published by New Vision on the 14th of March, 2019. 

The Sanistar website has been recently renewed for an easier, more visual explanation of the benefits of using a slightly acidic electrolyzed water for the disinfection of foods, equipment and surfaces.

In this new site, you can read and easily understand what exactly Sanistar Water is, where you can use it, how is it used and how it can reduce your costs thanks to its easy operation process and disinfection efficiency.

Increase your hygiene levels without risking your products or facilities in an economical, effective way. Take the next step with Sanistar Water.

Visit the new Sanistar Website here.

When speaking about the food industry, hand hygiene has been demonstrated crucial as many studies of illness outbreaks reveal that the common denominators include cross-contamination and poor employee health and hygiene. Knowing that contaminated hands can transfer viruses and bacteria to 5 more surfaces and up to 14 other subjects, proper hygiene among workers in the food industry is the key to ensure food safety. The impact of foodborne illness can be devastating to both restaurants and their customers’ health, and as a solution, many tend to think that we can avoid foodborne illness just by wearing gloves during food preparation. As always, finding the right solution is not that simple.

Gloves and why wear them

1. Main Advantages:

Disposable gloves act as a barrier for germs preventing the spread of food poisoning pathogens and various strains of cold and flu viruses. They are essential in preventing food poisoning outbreaks and they also protect food from being contaminated by dirty fingernails, or from wounds. In some people's minds, seeing restaurant staff wearing gloves gives also a good perception regarding the cleanliness of the establishment. On top of that, for some workers wearing gloves is also more comfortable as it protects sensitive hands and they feel like they have a better grip, making food preparation easier.

Some kinds of foods should not be touched with bare hands as they are more sensitive to bacteria proliferation, so wearing gloves is a good solution for foods like:

• Prepared fresh fruits and vegetables served raw
• Salads and salad ingredients
• Cold meats and sandwiches
• Bread, toast, rolls and baked goods
• Garnishes such as lettuce, parsley, lemon wedges, potato chips or pickles on plates
• Fruit or vegetables for mixed drinks
• Ice served to the customer
• Any food that will not be thoroughly cooked or reheated after it is prepared

2. Disadvantages

Gloves should be worn properly mostly during the food handling process (while preparing food, they may get in the way), and they always have to be changed if they get ripped, torn, or contaminated. But they can create a false sense of security in the mind of the wearer and not be changed frequently enough. If the staff forgets those basic rules, contamination can occur, for instance, after using the bathroom, smoking, coughing, sneezing, and in between preparing raw and cooked foods, having to remove, wash your hands, and change gloves in any of those cases. 

Of course, if the food workers have wounded hands or bleeding cuts wearing gloves at all stages, including during food preparation, becomes vital.

3. Are gloves mandatory during food preparation?

Legally food handlers don’t have to wear gloves but in some countries, like in the U.S.A., the law requires that ready-to-eat food be prepared and served without bare hand contact. Wearing disposable sanitary gloves is one of several acceptable ways to comply with this law. In fact, according to a study food workers wearing gloves will fail to change them at the right time or will still wear them even if they are torn, meaning there is a fair chance that bacteria or virus particles spread around contaminating the kitchen area, which includes the food being served to you at a restaurant. So, a good combination of a proper handwashing protocol and the proper use of disposable gloves is the best way to minimize risks associated with foodborne illness. 

Hand Washing and its vital goal

The main advantage of not using gloves is that it tends to be more comfortable to manipulate foods, but it suffers the main disadvantage that, even with proper disinfection, the chance of contamination will always be higher than when wearing gloves.

Even if you use gloves or not, proper handwashing is still essential in all cases, especially during these key moments:

• Before starting work
• Before putting gloves or every time changing them
• After touching raw, fresh or frozen fish or meat
• After mopping, sweeping, removing garbage 
• After using the telephone
• After using the bathroom
• After smoking, eating, sneezing or drinking
• After touching anything that might result in contamination of hands, like taking care of a wound or a cut

Hand washing is vital in preventing contamination of food by food handlers. Viruses and harmful bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus present in the hands of food workers are removed by a proper handwashing protocol. A proper hand wash consists of:

• Washing your hands for at least 20 seconds
• Wetting your hands under warm running water 
• Using enough soap to form a good lather 
• Rubbing all parts of your hands with soap and water 
• Lathering for at least 20 seconds, vigorously and thoroughly rubbing all hand surfaces, including the fingertips and thumbs 
• Rinsing your hands thoroughly with running hot water 
• Drying your hands thoroughly 

So next time you go to a restaurant and you can see the kitchen operating, don’t be afraid when the food workers don’t wear gloves. But if they are holding their phone while preparing your food, it might be a good idea to change of restaurant.

The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes had a fantastic ability to look beyond the obvious and see things that others had missed. He would use his years of experience and creative intellect to play out various scenarios until, in his mind, the correct sequence of events clicked into place. Plant sanitarians, like the famed detective, need to acquire the same problem-solving skills… looking past the obvious to find hidden threats and microbial hotspots that lurk inside every food processing environment. 

The Usual Suspects

Some of the most notorious microbial hot spots include floor drains, standing water on floors, gaskets and seals inside food contact equipment, and difficult to disassemble and clean machinery (e.g., meat slicers). During the cleaning and sanitization process, these areas receive copious amounts of attention, and with good reason. Time and again, these hot spots are the origin of many food safety and quality issues in manufacturing plants.¹ 

In 2008, a Listeria outbreak claimed over 20 lives in Canada, resulting in one of the largest food product recalls in that nation’s history.² Following an exhaustive investigation, the source of the bacteria was traced to slicing equipment at a Toronto meat processing plant.3 Soon after the deadly outbreak, the FDA’s Food Code recommended more stringent cleaning and sanitizing requirements for meat slicing equipment held at room temperatures in the United States.³

The intense focus on highly problematic microbial hot spots in food facilities is demonstrably warranted. It is necessary, however, to be mindful that the processing environment is a multidimensional universe to itself, teeming with possible hot spots that are often out-of-sight or out-of-mind, such as cooling coils on air handling units. It is these less obvious areas that need more consideration.

Look Beyond the Obvious

In order to truly safeguard our facilities, we need to look beyond the obvious, and analyze all the “what ifs” to find where real and potential problem areas might exist. Dr. Jeffrey L. Kornacki, a leading food microbiologist and safety consultant, has inspected hundreds of processing facilities, ranging from slaughter houses to dairy plants. He possesses over four decades of food industry experience with 30 years as an active food safety consultant. 

Kornacki, who began his career in the mid 1980’s and now heads Kornacki Microbiology Solutions in Madison, WI, has a large trove of frontline stories on finding microbial hot spots in some innocuous places. Not too long ago, during a Salmonella plant investigation, he came across a fan belt cover and, out of curiosity, decided to remove the metal facing. Eyeing the belt, he noticed that a multitude of inch-long slits had nearly permeated the hard and worn rubber. Later, to little surprise, the belt tested positive for the hazardous organism. 

Kornacki, who edited the 2010 book, “Principles of Microbiological Troubleshooting in the Industrial Food Processing Environment,”⁴ proclaims numerous inconspicuous entities, such as electrical boxes, cracked hard plastics, and hollow structures in equipment, can easily be contaminated due to their proximity to water and food residues.

Identifying the Perpetrator Before the Crime Even Happens

In the continuous struggle against microbial hot spots of escalating notoriety, Kornacki notes that it is crucial for processors to give increased attention to preventative maintenance programs, hygienic equipment design, and adhere to standard verified sanitation protocols.

Stating that preventative maintenance is “a big area where companies fail or don’t do well,” the food safety consultant says many food processing facilities generally give little thought to replacing equipment parts, such as bearing seals and gaskets, until the components are withered, failing, and more prone to microbial contamination.

“It is intrinsically not logical to expose your facility to a potential shutdown due to preventative maintenance failures,” he imparts. 

Plant management, Kornacki emphasizes, should provide quality assurance team members with unswerving support to perform their duties. Rigorous preventative maintenance programs, according to a consortium of sanitarians, can help ensure the production of safe food, extend equipment life and enhance operating efficiencies through significant cost savings.⁵

It's Elementary My Dear Watson

Microbial hot spots can be anywhere and everywhere in a food manufacturing facility. As food safety experts we need to become proficient at analyzing each environment and piece of equipment, then ask ourselves, “where could microbes be hiding?”. We need to become creative problem solvers… modern day sleuths to ensure that all potential hotspots have been identified. Equipment user manuals and equipment manufacturers are a great resource for identifying potential areas of microbial harborage. The next step of the equation is to design cleaning and sanitizing programs that effectively address these problematic areas. 

Sources:

1. Retrieved from www.refrigeratedfrozenfood.com/articles/92268-mitigating-hotspots-in-your-food-processing-plant
2. Retrieved from https://www.revolvy.com/page/2008-Canada-listeriosis-outbreak
3. Retrieved from www.fmi.org/docs/food-safety-best-practice-guides/listeria-action-plan-for-retail-delis.pdf?sfvrsn=9
4. Retrieved from Kornacki, J.L. 2010. Principles of Microbiological Troubleshooting in the Industrial Food Processing Environment.Springer Publishing, NY, NY.
5. Retrieved from www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/april-may-2012/preventive-maintenance-an-essential-prerequisite-for-food-safety/

This article was originally published by Best Sanitizers, Saraya's subsidiary in the USA. For more information on how to identify microbial hotspots and how to fight them, click here to access the original source.

The food processing floor is a demanding habitat whirring with moving equipment, parts and people. In the bustle of this fluid and structured environment, plant management and employees face a herculean battle to protect the integrity of finished products from microbial cross-contamination. 

As we know, pathogenic microorganisms – such as Salmonella enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes – can enter the food processing environment through several routes, including raw materials, equipment and humans. Once inside, these hazardous microbes are commonly transferred to ready-to-eat food, clean utensils and sanitary contact surfaces by mobile vectors (e.g., forklifts, carts and personnel) that travel through different processing areas (1).

Plant workers, by far, are the “biggest movers” in processing facilities and are cited as a leading source of cross-contamination by federal regulatory agencies and safety associations representing nearly every food industry segment (2). 

Boots on the Ground

During a typical workday, employee footwear is continuously soiled by organic matter on food plant floors. Dirty boots and shoes can quickly spread microorganisms throughout the processing environment, placing the safety of products at risk. Given the gravity of this, processors – in mandated written food safety plans – limit and segregate the movement of plant employees in designated processing areas (i.e., the zone concept). Scores of plants are also embracing the inherent value of footwear hygiene programs and employing modern cleaning and sanitizing systems to kill microorganisms on boots and shoes. 

High on Hygiene

A well-conceived and executed footwear hygiene program is a significant investment that can greatly reduce cross-contamination in processing facilities. In the article, Is Your Sanitation Program Starting on the Right Foot? (3), processors are provided with a detailed starter template for building a successful program. Highlighted below are some selected observations and recommendations from the informative publication:

• Ideally, footwear hygiene programs should be customized to meet a facility’s specific needs. When deciding on a footwear cleaning and sanitizing program, processors should consider a number of factors, such as: How many employees work in the facility? Is there a dedicated footwear program with a properly selected tread pattern? What is the soil load? Is the facility wet or dry?
• Depending on the size and type of facility, food processors can choose from a variety of boot washers and scrubbers, foot baths, and footwear sanitizing units to utilize with cleaning and sanitizing chemicals to provide maximum pathogen reduction on footwear. 
• All employees, from management to line workers, must be educated that footwear is a major vehicle for cross-contamination. Determining the exact moment or source when cross-contamination occurs in the processing environment is an extremely difficult task. As such, plant personnel should be provided with continuous and relevant training to help stop cross-contamination in its tracks.

With or without a dedicated program, plants must assure that employee footwear is cleaned and sanitized before entering critical areas for maximum pathogen reduction (3).

Truth Be Told

While cleaning and sanitation practices have improved substantially over the past several years, some have been shown to be ineffective in killing pathogens and can actually result in the spread of microorganisms from footwear. Among the most frequently mentioned sanitation shortcomings are manual sanitizing foot baths, shoe and boot covers, and equipment for the manual scrubbing of footwear with brushes. 

Foot baths, which have been a staple of sanitation programs for decades, are of particular concern for sanitation professionals who caution that poorly monitored baths can become bacterial breeding grounds. Organic material, they warn, can accumulate in the container to the point where the sanitizer is no longer effective (4). Messy foot baths can also send the wrong message to auditors and customers. It is also critically important for processors to be aware that foot baths can introduce unwanted moisture into the environment. 

Best Systems

Employee hygiene practices that are dependent on manual intervention are prone to variability, a factor that can undercut contamination control efforts. The advent and availability of fully automated cleaning and sanitizing systems, however, offsets this knotty dynamic, allowing footwear to be cleaned and sanitized effectively, quickly and economically. 

Best Sanitizers, Inc., a leading provider of cleaning and sanitizing chemicals and equipment designed specifically for the food processing industry, offers a line of boot scrubbers and sanitizing equipment to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination in your facility. Best Sanitizers, Inc. wants to remind food processors that sanitization can only occur on a clean surface and offer a line of boot scrubbers and footwear sanitizing equipment to help get the job done. 

The BSX Boot Scrubber™ Series™ Series is available in different size units to fit the needs of large and small processors alike. The system employs Alpet No-Rinse Quat Sanitizer as a cleaning solution which combines with the unit’s mechanical action to clean soil and debris. 

Once boots are clean, Best Sanitizers recommends following up with a sanitizing step. The HACCP SmartStep™ and the HACCP SmartStep2™ are footwear sanitizing units that use compressed air to deliver a fresh does of Alpet® D2 Surface Sanitizer or Alpet® D2 Quat-Free Surface Sanitizer to the soles of footwear. The HACCP SmartStep2 sanitizes both boots at the same time, and is a walk-through system making it ideal for facilities that require greater throughput. The original HACCP SmartStep is a smaller unit that sanitizes one boot at a time, but with a smaller footprint, can go practically anywhere footwear sanitization is required. 

Sources:

1. Retrieved from www.foodsafetymagazine.com/index.cfm/magazine-archive1/februarymarch-2012/identifying-and-controlling-microbiological-cross-contamination/ 
2. Retrieved from www.foodsafetymagazine.com/index.cfm/magazine-archive1/december-2004january-2005/the-dos-and-donts-of-food-plant-personal-hygiene-practices/ 
3. Retrieved from www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/sanitation-program-starting-right-foot/ 
4. Retrieved from www.aibonline.org/Food-First-Blog/PostId/917/the-reasons-foot-baths-exist 

This article was originally published by Best Sanitizers, Saraya's subsidiary in the USA. For more information on cleaning and sanitizing equipment, click here to access the original source.

In the game of football, when a quarterback, running back or wide receiver is stacking up yardage seemingly at will, sports broadcasters will often say: “You can’t stop him... the best you can do is try to contain him!” In many respects, this adage conveys the plight that food processors face in their fight against Salmonella. 

For decades, the food industry has waged a non-stop battle against Salmonella, the second leading cause of foodborne illness behind Norovirus in the United States. Salmonella, which is widely dispersed in nature and lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and animals, is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with the bacterium. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a federal agency that conducts and supports health promotion, prevention and preparedness activities in the U.S., estimates that salmonellosis is responsible for 1.2 million illnesses, $365 million in direct medical costs, 23,000 hospitalizations and approximately 450 deaths every year^1,2.

Long recognized as a major safety hazard in raw beef, poultry, milk and eggs, Salmonella has, in recent years, been linked to a number of foods, including vegetables, nuts, and fruit, as well as processed products, such as frozen pot pies and peanut butter.

Due to its ability to survive in a wide variety of environmental conditions, Salmonella has also been found in dry and dehydrated foods (e.g., cocoa, spices, chocolate, dry milk, and breakfast cereal) and in acid food products, such as non-pasteurized orange juice. The incidence of bacterium is much higher in raw agricultural products than in cooked or processed foods². 

A Formidable Opponent

In food processing plants, Salmonella can be transferred to other foods by cross-contamination with raw ingredients, utensils, water, equipment, soiled hands and other sources. Research studies have shown that Salmonella can remain viable on food contact surfaces for significant periods of time, increasing the risk of cross-contamination between food handlers, food products, and food contact surfaces³.

Given its ubiquity, it is basically impossible to eradicate Salmonella from the food processing environment. It is possible, however, to control Salmonella contamination by employing science-based strategies, preventive control measures, and industry best practices.

Processor' Playbook

The following section, drawn from various industry guidelines and recommendations, provides an overview of selected measures that industry processors can utilize to reduce the incidence of Salmonella contamination in the food processing environment.

Personnel Practices: As carriers of Salmonella, plant employees must exercise proper hygienic practices to reduce cross-contamination risks in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). This involves, but is not limited to, maintaining adequate personal cleanliness, wearing outer garments (e.g., aprons), adequately washing and sanitizing hands as needed, removing jewelry, wearing impermeable gloves, and storing personal belongings in areas away from food, food contact surfaces and food packaging materials. Plant management should conduct ongoing employee training programs to reinforce the importance of these and other practices in the production of safe food.

Separating Raw and Finished Products: Separating raw products from finished products is critical in preventing Salmonella cross-contamination. As such, plants must be compartmentalized to ensure the separation of raw ingredients and processed products. Wet processing areas should be isolated from other production areas and standing water should be removed immediately by sanitation crews. Designated in-plant traffic patterns, in concert with GMPs, must be monitored and controlled to prevent the transfer of microbes. Equipment, utensils and employees in raw and processed areas should not be interchanged during daily activities⁴.

Supplier Management Programs: Quality suppliers are integral in reducing the risk of Salmonella contamination from ingredients. Prior to entering a business relationship, companies should meet with potential suppliers to establish written ingredient specifications and audit their operations to determine if they comply with appropriate industry guidelines, practices and regulations⁵. Supplier management programs, which include signed and approved ingredient specifications, should be specific to be effective and address a number of areas, including raw materials procurement, manufacturing procedures, food safety management systems (i.e., HACCP), documentation systems and analytical testing (e.g., certificates of analysis).

Plant Sanitation: In written food safety plans, processing facilities must have cleaning and sanitizing procedures in place to kill Salmonella and other disease-causing microorganisms. Equipment, utensils and food contact surfaces should be cleaned at set intervals with EPA-approved food grade chemicals. When choosing sanitizing agents, quality assurance teams should consult with suppliers to determine the most effective chemicals for their facilities. Additionally, plants that are concerned with Salmonella biofilms should work with chemical suppliers to evaluate the scope of the problem and establish a system, such as the scheduled rotation of sanitizers, to eliminate it. 

Double Team

Fighting Salmonella in the food plant is a contentious match, requiring processors to partner with recognized food safety and sanitation experts, such as Best Sanitizers, Inc. to control this perennial powerhouse. 

Through its Alpet^® product line, Best Sanitizers provides sanitizing hand soaps, hand sanitizers and surface cleaners and sanitizers to help control the growth of Salmonella in processing facilities. To reduce Salmonella cross-contamination from hands, choose a hand soap that has been tested effective against the deadly pathogen, such as Alpet Q E2 Sanitizing Foam Soap or HACCP Q E2 Liquid Hand Soap. For maximum pathogen reduction on hands, follow handwashing with Alpet E3 Plus Hand Sanitizer Spray, which has been tested effective against 26 pathogens, including Salmonella.

Reduce the risk of cross-contamination from food contact and non-food contact surfaces with Alpet D2 Surface Sanitizer and Alpet D2 Quat-Free Surface Sanitizer. Alpet D2 and Alpet D2 Quat-Free clean and sanitize food contact and non-food contact surfaces, including rubber gloves and footwear. Both Alpet D2 and Alpet D2 Quat-Free have the fastest kill times available killing 

99.999% of tested pathogens in 60 seconds as a food contact surface sanitizer, and 99.9% of tested pathogens in 10 seconds as non-food contact surface sanitizer. And, both products are effective against Salmonella!

As the first company to achieve an E3 rating for an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and a D2 rating for an alcohol/quat-based surface sanitizer, we’re committed to delivering innovative solutions to our customers and partners.

Sources:

1. CDC. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html
2. C. Braden. 2011. Sneaky Salmonella: It’s Common, Costly, and Preventable. Retrieved from https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/sneaky_salmonella.html
3. E. Carrasco, A. Morales-Rueda, and R.M. García-Gimen. 2011. Cross-contamination and Recontamination by Salmonella in Foods: A Review. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996911006260
4. J. Williams, Jr. 2014. Three Main Steps to Prevent Microbial Cross-Contamination. Retrieved from http://foodsafety.merieuxnutrisciences.com/2014/06/26/3-main-steps-to-prevent-cross-contamination/
5. D. Eymard. 2009. How to Choose a Reputable Ingredient Supplier. Retrieved from https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/junejuly-2009/how-to-choose-a-reputable-ingredient-supplier/

This article was originally published by Best Sanitizers, Saraya's subsidiary in the USA. Click here to access the original source.

Cotof Kitchen Lab, SARAYA’s brand new experimental kitchen laboratory, opened at Osaka Municipal Central Wholesale Eastern Market in August 2020, equipped with a complete range of SARAYA’s Rapid Freezer and Shut-Man, our newest food freezing system, as well as many of our products to keep this lab clean and hygienic. 

The aim of this kitchen is to contribute to the creation of local communities and solve the problem of food waste, shortening and improving the efficiency of cooking processes, and eliminating labor shortage, all by means of these food processing methods.

The kitchen of the future

Outside of the Osaka Central Wholesale Eastern Market.	Entrance to the Cotof Kitchen Lab.

Located on the Osaka Central Wholesale Eastern Market, the 9th largest food market in Japan, the Cotof Kitchen is located in a place with easy access to a wide range of fresh and seasonal food ingredients to experiment with, including fruits, vegetables, seafood, and processed foods.

When you go through its orange gate, you feel like you are entering a futuristic kitchen. Named “Cotof” as an abbreviation for “Cooking Tomorrow’s Food”, it is indeed a kitchen with the latest technology, where chefs experiment with various food preparation methods, searching for new and innovative ways of conserving and efficiently storing food in a hygienic way, supporting the simple, sustainable lifestyle that SARAYA always search with its innovations. 

Kitchen Hygiene system, including the use of Sanistar.

While the photo above showing the food preparation area may not seem out of the ordinary to most, SARAYA, as a company that focuses on hygiene we made sure that everything, from foods to equipment, is set and prepared the right way in order to have a clean environment. Using Sanistar water, which lets you disinfect safely with slightly acidic electrolyzed water, disinfection has never been easier and safer (for both you and the environment). All tools, from hoses to machinery, are strategically placed in the kitchen to provide you the best solutions to keep any kitchen hygienic and ready to work.

Rapid Freezer and Shut-Man, the best food freezing combo

The highlight of this kitchen’s equipment is the combination of Rapid Freezer and Shut-Man, SARAYA’s latest food freezing system. Rapid Freezer is a machine to rapidly freeze food by dipping it in an alcohol solution chilled to -30°C /-22°F, while Shut-Man helps you to vacuum-pack foods in preparation for the use of Rapid Freezer. When you dip food in the chilled, originally developed alcohol solution of Rapid Freezer, food freezes just within a few minutes, about 20 times faster than in the normal freezer, which enables the food being frozen to pass the maximum ice crystal formation zone quickly, making any ice crystals formed within the food small without destroying cells, keeping the food fresh and tasty after it is unfrozen.

Pre-cooked food is weighed and put in a plastic bag, making time management easy for chefs when preparing food, to then be vacuumed out of any air in the plastic bag by Shut-Man, SARAYA’s food vacuum packing machine. You can adjust the amount of air in the bag depending on the kind of food, with heat resistant plastic bags that maintain food quality at different temperatures. Besides the normal see-through plastic bags, SARAYA also offers blue color bags (you can see them above the Shut-Man machine in the right picture below), so that pieces of plastic are easily spotted in case anything falls in food in mass production food facilities.

Chef preparing food to freeze in the Rapid Freezer.	A plastic bag is ready to be vacuumed in the Shut-Man machine.

After sealing, bags with food are placed in the chilled alcohol solution of the Rapid Freezer, freezing within minutes, keeping the food’s original texture and almost identical taste that in its original state. All this makes Rapid Freezer a great solution to any restaurant or food business, providing an effective way of storing food in a sustainable way, efficiently using the chefs’ time, easing their workload.

Rapid Freezer, using chilled alcohol instead of ice.	Food keeps its texture and flavor, with no ice created alterations.

Using this freezing system, and in order to also prove the quality of our conservation methods, SARAYA has also launched Cotof Mall, our official on-line shopping site in December 2020, selling delicious food using the latest freezing technology and packaging methods, delivering “today's catch” from many regions of Japan in their original, delicious state in a hygienic and safe way, keeping health, nutrition, food loss and environmental issues always in mind.

In accordance with the SDGs principles which SARAYA pursues, we contribute to food-related businesses through the construction of food chains from manufacturing, processing, and distribution to restaurants, so that marine and agricultural resources can be tasted without waste while keeping their fresh and delicious state, for the realization of a sustainable society. 

Stay tuned with their upcoming developments!

Visit the Cotof Mall (Japanese) here.

For more information on SARAYA’s systems included in this article, feel free to get in touch on our contact page.

Dr. Taro Furuta (above photo, right; photo was taken in the ’80s), former head of Saraya Biochemical Laboratory and current advisor, was one of the major developers of many of Saraya’s hand hygiene products for the past 50 years, making him one of the leading figures of hand hygiene in Japan. This is an extract of our conversations with him, talking about the norovirus outbreak during 2005-2007, and how that led to him being known as Dr. Handwashing.

Norovirus, and its 2005 outbreak in Japan

Norovirus, a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, is a common cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Pediatricians often described it as “winter vomiting disease”, but it was not until an outbreak at an elementary school in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1968 when it was tentatively linked to a virus named the “Norwalk Virus”. Scientists began more detailed studies in the 1990s and eventually determined Norwalk was one of the groups of related human viruses with similar symptoms that are now known as “noroviruses”. 

These fast-spreading viruses can hold in the environment: even just a handful of them can resist most active ingredients in cleaning products, for weeks or longer, to then spread by touching that contaminated surface and putting your unwashed hands in your mouth. It can also spread through direct contact with an infected person or consuming contaminated food or water. 

The virus has been too difficult to culture to this day; therefore there are no antiviral drugs, nor vaccines available yet. The best countermeasures are hand washing and disinfection, making proper hand hygiene extremely important.

When a norovirus epidemic hit stronger than other seasons around 2005, making the news with epidemics in schools and senior care facilities, Dr. Furuta and his team immediately conducted product efficacy experiments of our products as a solution. Noroviruses belong to the Caliciviridae family so they used feline calicivirus, an alternative to norovirus, which caused diseases in cats. Saraya was the first company to conduct experiments on the efficacy of its hand hygiene products using this virus, mainly thanks to our laboratory equipped with a microbiology research facility, which is rare for a company. In order to see if our alcohol formulations would work, they tested the effect of adding other ingredients, mainly ethanol, to alcohol to improve its efficiency changing chemical ingredients to check if disinfection would occur under a minute, like 15 seconds or 30 seconds.

Together with previous research findings, Dr. Furuta started to create and organize information about Norovirus countermeasures. He knew the best countermeasure was hand hygiene, and as a specialist in said subject, he already had researched numerous theses published all over the world, always collecting information from as many sources as possible. He made a guideline based on the evidence categories and paid extra attention to make sure that this guideline would not deviate too far from the existing guidelines in other countries, ensuring a minimum quality equal to any international guideline.

Around that time, he was invited to some TV talk shows on NHK, the Japanese national television network, to talk about proper handwashing, vital for the prevention of infectious diseases like norovirus. While appearing on several shows between 2005 and 2007, he was always introduced as Dr. Handwashing.

“Dr. Handwashing is a name that I would have never come up with by myself, but everybody started using it as my nickname,” he said. 

Over the years working in SARAYA, he has developed many hand hygiene products like medicated hand soaps and hand sanitizers while conducting countless experiments. He has even written some books about norovirus and its countermeasures, together with other notable scientists, also giving lecture tours all over Japan. 

And that is how he helped improve infection prevention against norovirus and why people started to call him Dr. Handwashing.

Photo of the SARAYA laboratory office taken in 2021. In the middle, Dr. Furata, still acting as an advisor after 50 years.

In a groundbreaking move towards enhancing hygiene and product quality, Kaputei Farm, a leading manufacturer of products made from 100% natural ingredients, has recently installed our Sanistar Machine. As one of the major producers of ketchup and sauces in Kenya, Kaputei Farm recognizes the importance of maintaining stringent cleanliness standards in their manufacturing processes.

Image: Donald Ndalu (Food Sanitation Lead) demonstrating the operation of the Sanistar Machine to Kaputei staff.

Reducing Fly Infestation

Linda from Kaputei Farm reported a significant reduction in the number of flies within the facility following the installation of the Sanistar Machine. This outcome is a testament to the machine's effectiveness in creating a sanitary environment, thereby improving the overall hygiene standards of the production facility.

As consumers become increasingly conscious of the importance of product quality and hygiene, Kaputei Farm's commitment to incorporating cutting-edge technology like the Sanistar Machine reflects positively.

Related product: Sanistar SS-300

For more on Sanistar, please visit Sanistar Website