GMP measures for Food Storage

Food Storage – Specific GMP conditions

Storage conditions should maintain the fitness, nutritional value, appearance and taste of food. Specific GMP measures are highlighted as follows

Infrastructure:

• All distribution centres used to warehouse and distribute products shall be constructed, maintained and operated in strict adherence to the Good Manufacturing Practices and sanitation procedures.
• The warehouse shall be of sound construction (e.g., no holes in floor or walls, door gaps, roof leaks, etc.). Roof surfaces, skylights and other openings shall be routinely maintained and free of leaks.
• Truck, rail, dock and personnel doors shall shut tight and shall be kept closed when not in use or shall be properly screened if used for ventilation.
• Clamp trucks, forklifts, and other mechanical equipment shall be maintained in such condition so as not to create oil spills on the floor or product.
• Floors, walls, doors, and windows shall be kept in good repair and free of unprotected openings to prevent pest entry.
• Dock levellers shall be well maintained and inspected monthly. Levellers shall be cleaned a minimum of quarterly.
• Light fixtures shall be shielded where breakage is likely (i.e., low ceiling, rail and trailer inspection lights).
• A glass breakage clean-up procedure shall be in place to prepare for and respond to unexpected glass breakage.
• Floors, walls, overheads and pallets shall be free of spillage, heavy dust, webbing or other debris.
• Pallets shall be in sound condition.
• An 18” sanitation strip shall be maintained between walls and product to allow for cleaning.
• Damaged cases shall be removed from shipments upon arrival, at the time of shipment and from storage areas.
• Damaged cases shall be stored in a specific location.
• Each facility shall have a procedure in place for managing product spills. Spills shall be promptly cleaned and followed by a visual inspection.
• There should be a quarantined and clearly demarcated area for rejected material.

Storage Practices (Good Warehousing Practices):

• Stacking norms shall be strictly adhered (Cases are Stacked SKU/Lot wise).
• Samples and Consumer offer Packs shall be stacked separately.
• Adequate identification system shall be in place so that FIFO should be followed. It should tally with the FIFO register.
• Loose stocks shall be stored in a Separate area (Loose stocks should be stored in the cases/racks with lock & key and the details should be mentioned on the outside of the case).
• Any broken pallets and containers should be replaced periodically.
• All bin-cards / Registers should be updated on real time basis.
• The trucks shall be unloaded on the same working day of reporting to avoid paying detention / halting charges. If there are detentions, they are appropriately recorded and Reported to the concerned.
• Procedures for rotation and shipment shall be followed to ensure that:
  • Each product shall be evaluated for shelf life and a maximum allowable age determined to allow shipment from a warehouse.
  • The Aged Inventory Manager or designee shall prepare a monthly report of product age so that action can be taken and to avoid potential age issues.
  • Product that has exceeded its shippable life systematically shall be moved to aged or liquidation status.
  • Aged product shall be turned over to Remarketing and Returns Management or designated area for sales opportunities in closeout channels or set up for donation.
  • Documented self-audits shall be conducted by the facility at a minimum of once per month to monitor quality, pest management and sanitation.

Safe Food Storage: 

• Stock rotation is essential to avoid spoilage.
• The ‘first in – first out’ (FIFO) principle must be followed at all times.
• Daily checks must be made on short life products.
• Outer packaging must be disposed of prior to storage to minimize the risk of potential contamination.
• Care should be taken to retain any ‘best before’ dates or codes.
• To prevent cross-contamination from raw foods (especially meat, poultry and shellfish), to cooked or prepared foods it is very important that they are stored separately.
• Storage containers should be of proper design, readily cleanable and maintained in good condition.
• Cleaning materials must be stored in a separate area away from food.
• Store non-food items separately.
• In order to protect the food from contamination, accelerated deterioration and multiplication of food poisoning organisms etc., once food deliveries are received, the food should be quickly moved to one of several storage areas namely:
  • Dry goods storage
  • Fruit and vegetable store
  • Refrigerated storage
  • Freezer storage

Personal cleanliness and hygiene:

Personal cleanliness and hygiene have a direct impact on GMPs. Improper or poor personal hygiene will be a contributing factor to product contamination.

1. All food handlers working in the premise should meet the following personal hygiene requirements when working in a food processing facility:

• Must shower or bathe before coming to work. Be sure to wash hair. Should be clean shaven, or in case of beard and/or mustache, must wear the appropriate net.
• Should not wear any type of heavy scented after-shaves, colognes, or perfumes.
• No false fingernails or nail polish.
• No tobacco / pan / gutkha & spitting in the operation area.
• Must wear hairnets and beard nets at all times while working in a food handling area. All hair, including the hair line and side burns, must be covered by the hairnet.
• Jewellery, personal items, and loose objects shall not be allowed in to food storage facility if storing raw or minimally processed not pre-packaged products. Jewellery includes earrings, any visible piercings, including tongue piercings, necklaces, watches, bracelets, and all rings.
  • Additional personal items like hand lotions, creams, balms, medicines, purses and play back devices etc., should not be allowed in a food processing facility.
  • No loose objects or hangings above the waist line.
  • No food or drink in storage area.
  • Any exposed open cut or partially-healed cut, scrape, or wound must be covered with a facility supplied bandage along with approved gloves as possible. These bandages shall ideally be bright colored which allows them to be detected if they fall into a food stream.
  • Sick person especially if illness is contagious shall not be allowed to work.
  • There should be arrangements for hand washing and sanitization at the work place, and employees must be instructed to wash and sanitize their hands at periodic intervals

Pest Management: 

• The facility shall either contract the services of a qualified pest control vendor or have certification for the regular inspection and treatment of the site to deter and eradicate infestation.
• Records of pest control inspections, pest-proofing, hygiene recommendations, and actions taken shall be maintained. It shall be the responsibility of the company to ensure all of the relevant recommendations made by their contractor or in-house expert are carried out in a timely manner.
• There should be a secure storage area for onsite storage of chemicals
• There should be a documented procedure for storing pesticide containers

Dry goods store

Potential hazards which must be controlled in dry goods storage could include bacterial growth due to cross-contamination and excessive moisture, contamination by pests and insects and chemical contamination from cleaning agents.

• To control these hazards dry goods stores must be kept cool, dry and clean.
• The store must be well ventilated and free from dampness.
• The store must be bright and food must be stored off the floor on shelving which is made of impervious/non-absorbent material or coated with an impervious and easy to clean waterproof material.
• Containers used for storage must be covered. Opened packages of food such as flour or sugar should be decanted into well-sealed containers.
• Windows should be fitted with insect screens and the store kept free from infestation by rodents and insects.

Refrigerated storage

Potential hazards Potential hazards that must be controlled in refrigerated storage include bacterial growth, cross contamination, and food beyond date marking. Controls Refrigeration slows down bacterial growth and this is why high-risk perishable foods should be kept refrigerated. Hot food must not be placed directly into the refrigerator as it will raise the temperature of the refrigerator above acceptable limits and may cause condensation leading to cross-contamination of food already inside. Food should be kept under refrigeration while cleaning the chiller. Chiller should be cleaned from top to bottom. Chillers should be maintained at the appropriate temperature before the food is returned to the food to the chiller.

• Refrigerators must not be overloaded as this prevents cool air circulating.
• Double stacking must be avoided.
• Refrigerated stores should be maintained at 0°C to 5°C.
• Cooked and ready-to-eat food should not be stored in the same refrigerator as raw foods, unless the cooked and ready-to-eat foods are properly covered and segregated to prevent cross contamination.
• Raw food should be stored below cooked/ready-to-eat food.
• Refrigerated stores must be kept clean and defrosted regularly.
• The doors of all stores should be kept closed except when they are being filled, emptied or cleaned.
• A thermometer and indicating gauges should be provided to check the temperatures of refrigerators, freezers, cold rooms and chilled cabinets on a daily basis. These readings should be recorded.
• Frozen meat, fish and poultry should be defrosted slowly in the refrigerator. Always follow manufacturers’ ‘use by’ dates

Fruit & vegetable storage – Potential hazards which must be controlled in fruit and vegetable storage include insect infestation and accelerated spoilage caused by heat and moisture. Fresh vegetables pose a special problem due to the large quantities of soil which they or their containers may bring into the premises.

• Pre-washed vegetables should be stored separately.
• Vegetable stores must be clean, well ventilated with good lighting and pest-proof.
• Outer packaging should be removed and all fruit and vegetables should be stored on suitable shelving to allow good air circulation.
• Fruit and vegetables in storage must be inspected regularly and items that show signs of spoilage must be discarded. Salad items and soft fruits (except bananas) should be stored in the refrigerator

Freezer storage 

• It is vital that foods are in good condition before freezer storage because freezing greatly retards bacterial growth but will not necessarily kill them.
• All deliveries of frozen food must be placed in a freezer without delay.
• Freezers must be maintained at or below –18°C.
• A blast freezer should preferably be used to freeze foods.
• Storage freezers are designed to store food that is already frozen.
• Freezers must not be overloaded and the door must not remain open longer than is absolutely necessary.
• Prior to storage all foods should be properly labelled and dated.
• Raw and cooked foods should ideally be stored in separate freezers and all foods placed in freezers should be properly sealed/wrapped in order to prevent cross-contamination.
• Frozen food which has been thawed and not subsequently cooked must not be refrozen.
• Deep freezers should ideally be fitted with a high temperature audio alarm and/or a high temperature indicator light.
• During a power failure the freezer should not be opened and in catering establishments if the freezer breaks down there should be an agreed procedure to prevent the waste and contamination of food.

Returned Goods:

Goods issued from the warehouse to the sales/manufacturing facility which are returned to the warehouse for various reasons including quality issues, expiration of product, mismatch of order quantity or nature of goods.

• A procedure shall be in place to ensure returned goods are in acceptable condition and do not pose a food safety or product quality concern prior to being placed back into finished goods inventory. Returned goods are examined upon receipt for possible product tampering before reworked or repacked. A procedure and records are available.
• The appropriate authorization/documentation for receipt of returned goods shall be processed and include but is not limited to: product name, material number, quantity returned, lot code, who returned and reason for the return.
• All returned goods shall be placed on Hold upon receipt and segregated from shippable finished goods.
• Appropriate warehouse and/or distribution center personnel shall inspect the returned product upon receipt to determine quality food safety standards. The inspection shall include signs of pest activity, odours, foreign material, temperature abuse or damage to the product.
• After inspecting the returned product, the appropriate Facility Manager or their designee shall determine and document the returned goods disposition.
• The material for disposition shall be disposed in such a way that there is no misuse of the product.

Finished Good Traceability: 

• The written instructions shall be available for ensuring traceability of goods being dispatched. A person is assigned responsibility to handle withdrawal in case of an announced emergency.
• The product withdrawal and recall procedure shall include updated emergency contact details (such as names and phone numbers of suppliers, customers and competent authorities).
• The traceability system shall be tested, documented and, where appropriate, adapted at defined intervals to verify traceability including quantity checking.
• Ensure to test the recall program at lease twice in a year

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