Addition of the Sesame Seed as a Major Food Allergen Means Implementing an Effective Cleaning and Sanitation Program is Even More Critical

News
Created:
Last Updated:
Sesame

Goodway® Technologies offers tips and solutions to meet this important step.

Stamford, Conn. – October 3, 2022 – The addition of the sesame seed as the ninth major food allergen in the United States as part of the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research Act signed into law by President Biden has food production and processing facilities revisiting cleaning and sanitation regimens to properly manage and remove allergen risks. All products that use Sesame Seeds or items derived from them will have to be explicitly labeled after January 1, 2023. As this date quickly approaches, Goodway Technologies has outlined various innovative solutions they offer to clean and sanitize your facility to prevent cross-contamination while increasing labor savings and decreasing production downtime.

According to a study by the Journal of American Medical Association Network Open, approximately 0.34% of the U.S. population is directly impacted by an existing sesame allergy. With the potential to impact more than 1.1 million people in America, according to the same study, it’s critical food production, and processing facilities take proper measures to remove the risk of allergens and implement stringent cleaning and sanitation protocols.

“It is crucial for bakeries to identify effective methods to keep production environments clean and reduce or eliminate the risk of cross-contamination,” said Evan Reyes, Goodway Technologies Director of Sales, Sanitation Division. “Using the right technology to remove sesame seeds, oils and remnants can allow for an effective allergen cleaning.”

Goodway Technologies outlines recommended methods in order of effectiveness to assist with allergen control and cleaning:

  • 1st Choice – Dedicate certain plants for sesame seeded products to eliminate the need for product changeovers.
  • 2nd Choice – Dedicate a production line to sesame products using greater care when it comes to hygienic zoning, traffic patterns, GMPs, ingredient handling and personnel training.
  • 3rd ChoiceWhen a sesame changeover needs to occur, food contact surfaces and adjacent surfaces must be completely visually clean and should pass an allergen swab.

To combat the allergen challenge, Goodway®️ offers several innovative solutions to clean and sanitize your facility to prevent cross-contamination while increasing labor savings and decreasing production downtime.

Improved Housekeeping During Production:

Use a HEPA vacuum system for cleanup. Only a HEPA filter vacuum completely removes allergens from the environment. HEPA vacuums from Goodway®️ can be used during production. They are easy to use, manage and store close to production areas for quick and easy access.

Color-Coded Vacuum Brush Attachments:

Use color-coded dusting brushes to help prevent cross-contamination. Color code brushes, including those for HEPA vacuuming, can be dedicated for specific areas, surfaces, or allergens. Use the brushes together with the vacuum to recover the visual seeds.

Cleaning Packaging and Production Areas:

Use a dry steam cleaning system to break down oily/pasty residue without introducing too much moisture into the environment (which can lead to yeast/mold). Use on seeders, depanners, framework, pan cleaners, pan conveyors, guide rails, wrapping, slicing during changeover to clean without compromising your equipment.

Cleaning Conveyor Belts During Downtime:

In addition to dry steam generation system, use a modular conveyor belt cleaning system for mesh belts to remove allergens, breadcrumbs, oil, yeast and mold. This system will help you save on labor while achieving a more thorough cleaning. It will also enable faster changeovers, increased belt life span and improved production reliability.

Goodway Technologies offers a variety of solutions to help meet new regulations, safety, and cleanliness for Sesame allergen management. From HEPA vacuums, to dry steam cleaning to the latest belt cleaning technology with the PureBelt™ line of conveyor belt cleaners, Goodway can provide a solution and proper training and consultancy. For more information on how Goodway Technologies can help provide guidance on preparing production environments for allergen removal needs, call 1-800-333-7467 or visit www.goodway.com/allergen-cleaning. For a free on-site demo, please click here.

 

About Goodway Technologies
Founded in 1966, Goodway Technologies has been delivering better maintenance solutions for more than 55 years. Goodway Technologies provides innovative maintenance solutions for a wide variety of industries including commercial HVAC, food and beverage processing, power generation and manufacturing. Over the decades, Goodway has worked with our customers to create better solutions for tube cleaning systems, industrial vacuums, cooling tower maintenance systems, dry steam solutions, descaling systems, coil cleaning products and practically everything else for the care and maintenance of HVAC systems. Further information is available at www.goodway.com. Goodway is recognized as an ISO 9001:2015 certified company.