Every year food and beverage product recalls wreak havoc on public safety, consumer confidence and the bottom lines of food producers and distributors. In the U.S. alone, foodborne illnesses cause more than 48 million people to get sick and nearly 3,000 to die.¹ These illness-causing pathogens, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella enterica, and Listeria monocytogenes can enter your plant from a variety of sources. That’s why it’s important to choose uniform partners who have experience servicing businesses in the food processing industry.

The Role of HACCP in Food Manufacturing

Food manufacturing uniform policies are set up to help create a hygienic environment where food is processed as a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). In addition to a sanitary production area, strict process guidelines can be established by creating a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.²

HACCP can be applied to all stages from farm to table, including growing, harvesting, processing, manufacturing, distributing, merchandising and preparation of food. HACCP has seven guiding principles:

1. Conduct a hazard analysis
2. Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs)
3. Establish critical limits
4. Establish monitoring procedures
5. Establish corrective actions
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish record keeping and documentation procedures

Principle 2, the identification of CCPs in food processing where control can be applied to prevent, eliminate or minimize a hazard to an acceptable level is where a HACCP uniform policy comes into play. Food processors who follow the principles of HACCP and implement a HACCP uniform program with help from a trusted partner like Vestis® can gain consumer confidence through their commitment to food safety.

How to Bolster Your Food Manufacturing Uniform Policy

Look for uniforms that are HACCP-certified. There are key features that should be designed into uniforms to maintain food safety and integrity, including:

• Gripper Fronts Buttons should not be used on jackets, lab coats, frocks or smocks as they can accidentally fall into consumable products and create choking hazards and cross contamination. Uniforms should have snap or gripper closures that are faster, easier and safer alternatives to traditional buttons

• Pocketless Traditional shirts or coats often have a breast pocket. This can be a risk in food manufacturing as items falling out of pockets can contaminate food and cause serious issues. Uniforms should either be pocketless or pocket-free above the waist.

• Knit Cuffs Knit cuffs help prevent any foreign particles, such as hair, dirt and skin from contaminating food products. Knit cuffs create a tighter barrier between the uniform, the wearer’s skin and food resulting in a more hygienic process.

• Fit Proper measurement and sizing of uniforms is important to employee safety and consumer well-being. Loose fitting garments have a greater chance of getting caught in machinery or falling into food. Watch for dangling ties, excess fabric or ill-fitting sleeves.

• Durable Fabric Uniforms worn in food processing should be laundered on a frequent and reliable schedule to maintain hygiene. The fabric should be durable enough to withstand repeated washes.

The Importance of Laundering in Your HACCP Uniform Program

In the food processing industry, maintaining a clean and safe environment is not just a best practice—it’s an absolute requirement. The importance of preventing cross-contamination and ensuring food safety in these workplaces cannot be overstated. Proper laundering as part of your food manufacturing uniform policy plays a key role.

Vestis helps you maintain an advanced level of clean that provides greater peace of mind that your uniforms are handled using a HACCP-based process. To help meet compliance needs, Vestis uses its innovative, standardized and proprietary VeriTEX QC™ process for handling food processing uniforms.

The VeriTEX QC™ process includes:

• Pickup Service representatives from Vestis handle the pickup of soiled uniforms, keeping the sealed bags away from clean garments to help prevent cross-contamination and ensure a seamless transition in the laundering process.

• Laundry and Disinfection The soiled garments undergo a thorough cleaning process, including sorting by color, fabric and degree of soil. Vestis is the only uniform rental company to use an EPA-registered laundry disinfectant.³

• Handling and Inspection Throughout the entire process, garment sorters take precautions such as the use of disposable gloves and hand sanitizer. A final inspection and quality control measures are in place to guarantee the highest standards.

• Delivery and Vehicle Maintenance Clean uniforms are delivered with plastic covers to prevent cross-contamination during delivery. Additionally, routine cleaning and inspection of delivery vehicles help ensure continued adherence to food safety standards.

Food Safety for the Win

What food processing employees wear and what they do when they’re in those uniforms must be at the center of all food safety programs. Compromises in cleanliness standards can’t happen — health and safety of employees, consumers and your overall business is too important.

To learn more about our food processing uniform rental programs, reach out today. Our team is here to answer any questions and explain how Vestis can meet your uniform needs.

¹Burden of Foodborne Illness: Findings, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/php/data-research/foodborne-illness-burden/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html

²https://www.fda.gov/food/hazard-analysis-critical-control-point-haccp/haccp-principles-application-guidelines#princ

³This formulation meets EPA requirements for laundry disinfection (complete kill in 9 out of 9 carriers with a 6-log or greater organisms per carrier kill rate) for the following organisms during the wash cycle: Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus. Disinfected products are only provided to customers of Vestis who require and request their products be processed as part of our HACCP process.