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Environmental Monitoring for Verification

AFDO June 2014Warren E. Stone, MBA

Sr. Director of Science PolicyGrocery Manufacturers Association

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Acting on Results

In order to act upon EMP results the program needs to be an effective one.

Results are truly a result of environmental conditions and not from program shortcomings.

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Should we have an environmental monitoring program (EMP)?

The decision to incorporate an Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) into a company's food safety plan is done following a product and process risk evaluation

The EMP may not be needed in all manufacturing situationso Such a determination should be the outcome of a

thorough, comprehensive and robust hazard analysis and risk evaluation

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However...

An EMP is NOT a control program in itself Verification program to ensure all other food safety

programs are effectiveo Sanitary facility designo Sanitary equipment designo Hygienic zoningo Traffic patternso Separation of RTE and non-RTE areaso Good manufacturing practiceso SSOPso Employee hygiene training

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Seek and Destroy

An effective EMP program is a “seek and destroy” mission Objective is to find potential niches of pathogenic growth

and implement corrective action plans and mitigation steps to eliminate them

The objective is not to generate clean, consistently negative resultso If all current sampling sites yield negative results, go

look somewhere else Positive results are viewed as an opportunity to correct and

improve factory sanitary conditions

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QUESTIONS