Bloom’s Taxonomy: LIV & LV
Definition
- LI. Remembering: Exhibit memory of previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.
- LII. Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas.
- LIII. Applying: Solve problems in new situations by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way.
- LIV. Analyzing: Examine and break information into parts by identifying motives or causes. Make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations.
- LV. Evaluating: Present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas, or quality of work based on a set of criteria.
- LVI. Creating: Compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.
Topic Description
Environmental monitoring transitions the identification of contaminants in the food processing environment from the product to the equipment, surfaces, and other harborage points that introduce the contamination. Managers have a role in performing risk assessment and prioritizing hazards within the manufacturing facility. Managers evaluate the mandatory regulations for environmental monitoring and contrast them to third party or voluntary environmental monitoring regimens. Managers may also require application of environmental monitoring as a tactical approach to food safety recalls. Managers define the corporate attitudes towards environmental monitoring procedures.
Learning Objectives
Managers define the corporate strategy and tactics for environmental monitoring. They perform risk assessment and needs evaluations for identification of hazards in the environment and set the corporate mandate and budgets for environmental monitoring programs.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Identify the purpose and goal for environmental monitoring.
- P2. Evaluate food safety risks that can be identified and mitigated with effective environmental monitoring within the context of the facility.
- P3. Estimate the frequency of environmental monitoring within the facility.
- P4. Estimate the consumables costs for environmental monitoring.
- P5. Estimate the labor requirements for environmental monitoring.
- P6. Create a budget for environmental monitoring.
- P7. Factor costs of environmental monitoring into financial cost modeling.
- P8. Coordinate with Food Safety, Quality Control, Operations and Facilities, and Equipment Maintenance teams to ensure consensus on environmental monitoring strategies.
- P9. Define the corporate strategy for environmental monitoring.
- P10. Provide training and professional development for employees contributing to and performing the environmental monitoring programs.
Depending on the risk categorization or method of production claims there may be differing requirements for environmental monitoring. High moisture food processing environments, for example, may require Listeria monitoring as a regulatory requirement. Method of production claims such as “Gluten free” may require allergen monitoring. Managers must evaluate the regulations and communicate with inspection services to identify regulatory compliance based environmental monitoring. Managers must also evaluate the need for environmental monitoring as a part of customer and consumer service requirements.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Evaluate regulatory requirements for environmental monitoring based on the risk profile of the establishment and the products made.
- P2. Communicate with regulatory agencies for guidance and performance requirements of the environmental monitoring program.
- P3. Evaluate customer requirements for environmental monitoring, as part of food safety or method of production claims.
- P4. Evaluate customer and consumer needs within the product value chain to determine the importance of environmental monitoring for maintaining customer satisfaction.
- P5. Strategize over the marketing advantage of environmental monitoring as part of label claims, especially with allergen free claims.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) and residual protein monitoring are commonly used for evaluating the general efficacy of sanitation procedures either as part of validation of the completion of sanitation procedures, or as part of a pre-operation inspection. They may be used on contact surfaces or be included in rinse water testing for clean-in-place procedures. Managers evaluate and validate methods for hygiene monitoring procedures, direct quality, and food safety employees within the tasks.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Validate the effectiveness of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs).
- P2. Determine frequency of testing procedures.
- P3. Determine contact surfaces and priorities for testing.
- P4. Identify cross contamination opportunities within the facility.
- P5. Develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for hygiene environmental monitoring and validate its efficacy.
- P6. Approve equipment, consumables budgets, and purchases for hygiene environmental monitoring.
- P7. Determine appropriate cut off points for results based on before/after cleaning, manufacturer’s guidance, or statistical process control.
- P8. Develop and implement corrective action when unsatisfactory scores are identified.
- P9. Create record keeping, analytics, and key performance indicators for hygiene monitoring scores.
- P10. Provide training and professional development for employees conducting enivronmental monitoring for hygiene practices.
- P11. Appreciate and recognize quality hygiene performance in the workforce.
Allergen contamination in the facility can be evaluated using ELISA or lateral flow based environmental monitoring programs. The testing materials are antigen specific, as compared to the general biochemical testing in generic hygiene monitoring and require different methods of testing. Managers need to describe the difference between hygiene monitoring and allergen monitoring program depending on regulatory or third-party requirements.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Describe allergen control program which includes receiving, storing, handling allergen in the facility as well as the environmental monitoring for allergen procedure.
- P2. Justify application of specific allergen testing as compared to generic contamination testing (e.g., residual ATP or protein testing).
- P3. Validate the effectiveness of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures.
- P4. Determine the frequency of testing procedures.
- P5. Determine contact surfaces and priorities for testing.
- P6. Identify cross contamination opportunities within the facility.
- P7. Develop a Standard Operating Procedure for allergen monitoring and validate its efficacy.
- P8. Approve equipment and consumables budgets and purchases for allergen environmental monitoring.
- P9. Determine appropriate cut off points for results based on regulatory and third-party customer requirements.
- P10. Develop and implement corrective action when unsatisfactory scores are identified.
- P11. Report unsatisfactory results to appropriate food safety regulatory agencies.
- P12. Enhance product testing protocols when unsatisfactory allergen monitoring results are identified.
- P13. Create record keeping, analytics, and key performance indicators for allergen monitoring scores.
- P14. Provide training and professional development for employees conducting environmental monitoring for allergens contamination.
- P15. Appreciate and recognize allergen monitoring performance in the workforce.
Pathogen environmental monitoring has emerged as an important regulatory requirement, especially in foods prone to Listeria contamination. Salmonella, E. coli, and Cronobacter are other common pathogens evaluated in environmental monitoring. Managers must develop pathogen monitoring programs that comply with regulatory requirements of the product being produced and validate results.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Validate the effectiveness of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures.
- P2. Determine frequency of testing procedures using risk based and production volume-based evaluations.
- P3. Determine contact surfaces and priorities for testing.
- P4. Identify cross contamination opportunities within the facility.
- P5. Develop a Standard Operating Procedure for pathogen environmental monitoring and validate its efficacy.
- P6. Approve equipment and consumables budgets and purchases for pathogen environmental monitoring.
- P7. Determine appropriate cut off points for results based on regulatory and third-party customer requirements.
- P8. Develop and implement corrective action when unsatisfactory scores are identified.
- P9. Report unsatisfactory results to appropriate food safety regulatory agencies.
- P10. Enhance product testing protocols when unsatisfactory environmental monitoring results are identified.
- P11. Create record keeping, analytics, and key performance indicators for pathogen monitoring scores.
- P12. Provide training and professional development for employees conducting environmental monitoring for pathogens.
- P13. Appreciate and recognize pathogen monitoring performance in the workforce.
Certain groups of organisms such as aerobic plate counts, yeasts and molds, coliforms and lactic acid bacteria may or may not have regulatory requirements. Instead, these organisms can be indicative of successful sanitation and hygiene practices. Managers may be called on to justify the application of generic organism environmental modelling for diagnostic purposes.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Validate the effectiveness of the sanitation standard operating procedures.
- P2. Determine frequency of testing procedures.
- P3. Determine contact surfaces and priorities for testing.
- P4. Identify cross contamination opportunities within the establishment.
- P5. Develop a standard operating procedure for indicator organism environmental monitoring and validate its efficacy.
- P6. Approve equipment and consumables budgets and purchases for indicator organism environmental monitoring.
- P7. Determine appropriate cut off points for results based on regulatory and third-party customer requirements.
- P8. Develop and implement corrective action when unsatisfactory scores are identified.
- P9. Create record keeping, analytics, and key performance indicators for indicator organism monitoring scores.
- P10. Provide training and professional development for employees conducting environmental monitoring for indicator organisms.
- P11. Appreciate and recognize indicator organism quality monitoring performance in the workforce.
In some facilities, clean in place or CIP procedures are used, where equipment is not disassembled. Alternative testing methods may be required where rinse water is evaluated for residual sanitizers or for organisms of interest. In other environments, air sampling protocols may be applied for identifying airborne pathogen contamination risks from aerosol generating activities. Managers must provide risk-based evaluations, accountability for procedures, and must justify activities from both a cost and regulatory perspective.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Define risk-based sampling requirements for clean in place or aerosol generating activities.
- P2. Determine frequency of testing procedures.
- P3. Develop a Standard Operating Procedure for alternative environmental monitoring and validate its efficacy.
- P4. Approve equipment and consumables budgets and purchases for indicator organism environmental monitoring.
- P5. Determine appropriate cut off points for results based on regulatory and third-party customer requirements.
- P6. Develop and implement corrective action when unsatisfactory scores are identified.
- P7. Create record keeping, analytics, and key performance indicators for indicator organism monitoring scores.
- P8. Provide training and professional development for employees conducting environmental monitoring for routes of contamination.
- P9. Appreciate and recognize the importance of applying different styles of environmental monitoring.
While the purpose of environmental monitoring is to build up effective preventive systems, environmental monitoring is also an important diagnostic tool during food recalls. Managers should build a track and trace protocol using environmental monitoring if the product is found to be non-conforming for food safety.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Apply intensified corrective action sanitation procedures within the facility.
- P2. Mobilize affected food product for product testing confirmation of contamination.
- P3. Apply mandated sampling protocols from regulatory and inspection agents.
- P4. Evaluate the locations of existing non-conforming environmental monitoring results in the process flow and facility schematic.
- P5. Determine appropriate zones of contact for retesting.
- P6. Apply enhanced environmental monitoring using “Seek and Destroy” tactics.
- P7. Identify corrective action and preventive action in traced zones within the facility.
Results from environmental monitoring procedures can be used for diagnostic and preventive strategies. Key performance indicators should be defined by the management. Management should analyze and interpret results for identification of opportunities for improvement.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Develop tracking tools for environmental monitoring data collection.
- P2. Evaluate statistical analyses such as use of control charts, visual dashboards, or rolling averages graphs for data visualization and interpretation.
- P3. Create recommendations for continuous improvement based on statistical analyses.
Management sets the cultural dynamic for adoption and effective use of environmental monitoring programs. It is essential that everyone involved have a commitment to the process, and a proactive approach to food safety practices.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Provide training and professional development for employees contributing to and performing the environmental monitoring programs.
- P2. Evaluate the cultural mindset of the team, from doubt, awareness, enlightenment, and both preventive and predictive frames of mind using a food safety cultural continuum.
- P3. Justify the application of environmental monitoring in productivity gains, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and direct cost reductions.
- P4. Justify the risk mitigation and reduction from environmental monitoring.
- P5. Encourage team collaboration in environmental monitoring programs.
- P6. Value all parts of the workforce for their participation in environmental monitoring programs.
- P7. Provide constructive feedback in a way that encourages personal and team growth, continuous improvement, and minimizes both shame and fear.
- P8. Manage workloads and delegate tasks fairly and equitably.
- P9. Arbitrate conflicts between team members.
- P10. Celebrate successes within the team.
Links to existing courses
Approved Accredited Training Programs (Academic, Industries, Private Trainer)
Recognition of worker skills = Certification
Evaluation technics / assessment
- Quizzes
- Written tests
- Multiple choice questions
- Self-assessment and reflection
