CLEAN ROOM FOOD PROCESSING SYSTEMS, METHODS AND STRUCTURES

• US 20120073243A1
• Filed: 09/27/2011
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: West Liberty Foods LLC (Iowa Turkey Growers Cooperative)
• Original Assignee: West Liberty Foods LLC (Iowa Turkey Growers Cooperative)
• Inventors: Garrett, Edward S., Woodford, Richard D., Cook, Charles F.
• Granted Patent: US 10,472,837 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 53/111.R
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 18/00 Plants, factories, or the like for processing meat for processing poultry only A22C21/00; for processing fish only A22C25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A23B 4/005 Preserving by heating
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/165 in solid state
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 1/01 involving a cutting member which does not travel with the work
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/00 Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/00 Buildings or groups of buildings for public or similar purposes; Institutions, e.g. infirmaries or prisons
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/202 With product handling means

Abstract

Some food pathogens are not well controlled by lethality treatments followed by refrigeration. A food processing facility according to this invention reduces the likelihood that food pathogens will be able to enter the food processing facility, or spread should they be able to enter. The food processing facility is divided into a plurality of area, with different areas having different allowed actions that can be taken on the food product, different rules and/or procedures for persons who are allowed entry, and/or different levels of cleanliness. The food processing facility includes a plurality of separate rooms for processing the food product, each including separate food processing machines, air handling systems, drain systems and/or often-used supplies and tools. Different air pressures within different areas limit the possible movement of airborne food pathogens. Sanitizing stations are placed between various ones of the different areas.

Claims

1. A food processing facility, comprising:

a plurality of single-line food processing rooms, each food processing room comprising a secure area having a single line of series-connected food processing elements including at least one food processing device and at least one food packaging device, each food processing room at a first substantially sterile level of cleanliness which substantially prevents the presence and growth of pathogenic microorganisms including Listeria, the plurality of secure area single-line food processing rooms each being individually atmospherically and structurally isolated to effectively prevent any contamination occurring in any one such food processing room or series-connected food processing element therein from contaminating food products processed in any other of such plurality of food processing rooms and series-connected food processing elements therein;

at least one at least semi-secure delivery area, each delivery area at a level of substantial cleanliness that can be below the first level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of previously processed food products after at least one selected post-lethality treatment of the food products;

at least one at least semi-secure packaged food receiving area, each packaged food receiving area at a level of substantial cleanliness that can be below the first level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of hermetically sealed food packages within the packaged food receiving area;

a first passage extending from each of the plurality of secure food processing rooms to the semi-secure delivery area, and a second passage extending from each of the plurality of secure food processing rooms to the packaged food receiving area;

at least one at least semi-secure buffer area, each buffer area which may be at a level of cleanliness that can be below the level of cleanliness of the delivery area but will substantially prevent contamination of previously processed food products after at least one selected post-lethality treatment of the food products within the at least semi-secure buffer area, and of personnel, clean uniforms, cleaning supplies and equipment located within and passing through such semi-secure buffer area;

at least one unsecure common area, each common area at a level of cleanliness that can be below the level of cleanliness of the buffer area, wherein the level of cleanliness of the common area is appropriate for management staff and personnel support activities;

a plurality of sanitizing stations, at least one sanitizing station located between a common area and a buffer area and at least one sanitizing station located between a buffer area and a delivery area and/or a packaged food receiving area.

3. The food processing facility of claim 1, wherein the said food processing facility includes a multiple number of food slicing machines, each food slicing machine being an element of single food slicing line of series-connected food processing elements, each such single food slicing line comprising at least one food packaging device associated in series-connected relation with a one of said slicing machines, and wherein each such single food processing line is separately housed in a said single line food slicing room at a first substantially sterile level of cleanliness, and wherein each such single-line food processing room is atmospherically and structurally isolated from every other single-line food processing room, whereby each such single-line food processing room housing a single food slicing line effectively comprises a separate food slicing and packaging facility.

4. The food processing facility of claim 3 wherein a unique identity code is associated with each single-line food processing room, whereby any product packaged in any such room which might later be found to be contaminated can be traced back to the room of its processing to direct and focus decontamination efforts to the processing room within which the contaminated product was packaged without interfering with continuing processing operations in other similarly isolated processing rooms which are not contaminated.

2. A food processing facility usable to process a food product in an environment having low risk for contamination, comprising:

a plurality of single-line food processing rooms, each food processing room comprising a single line of series-connected food processing elements including at least one food processing device and at least one food packaging device, said plurality of single-line food processing rooms each being atmospherically and structurally isolated to effectively prevent any contamination occurring in any one such single-line food processing room or series-connected food processing element therein from contaminating food products processed in any other of such single-line food processing rooms or series-connected food processing elements therein;

at least one delivery area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having a first passage to a delivery area; and

a second area that includes at least some of a holding area, a treatment area and a buffer are; and

a third area that includes at least one packaged food receiving area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having at least a second passage to the packaged food receiving area;

wherein;

the delivery area and the plurality of single-line food processing rooms comprise a secure area and are each at least at a first sanitary level of cleanliness, and the single-line food processing rooms are each at a substantially sterile condition which is sufficient to substantially prevents the presence and growth of pathogenic microorganisms, including Listeria;

the second area comprises an at least semi-secure area and is at a second level of substantial cleanliness that may be less than the first level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of previously processed food products after at least one elected post-lethality treatment of the food products within the semi-secure second area, and of personnel, clean uniforms, cleaning supplies and equipment located within and passing through such second area; and

the third area has a level of cleanliness that can be less than the first level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of hermetically sealed food packages conveyed and handled within the third area.

5. In a food processing facility having multiple food slicing devices and multiple downstream packaging machines usable for processing high volumes of ready-to-eat food products, the improvements comprising:

multiple individual single-line food processing rooms, each of said food slicing devices being separately housed in a food processing room comprising a single line of series-connected food processing elements including at least one said food slicing device and at least one food packaging device, said single-line food processing rooms each being atmospherically and structurally isolated to effectively prevent any contamination occurring in any one such single-line food processing room or series-connected food processing element therein from contaminating food products processed in any other of said single-line food processing rooms or series-connected food processing elements therein;

at least one delivery area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having a first passage to a said delivery area; and

a second area that includes at least some of a holding area, a treatment area, and a buffer area; and

a third area that includes at least one packaged food receiving area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having a second passage to a said food receiving area;

wherein;

the delivery area and the plurality of single-line food processing rooms comprise a secure area and are each at least at a first sanitary level of cleanliness, the single-line food processing rooms each being at a high level of sanitary cleanliness sufficient to substantially prevent the presence and growth of pathogenic microorganisms, including Listeria;

the second area comprises an at least semi-secure area and is at a second level of substantial cleanliness that may be less than the first level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of previously processed food products after at least one elected post-lethality treatment of the food products within the semi-secure second area, and of hermetically sealed food packages conveyed and/or handled within the second area, and of personnel, clean uniforms, cleaning supplies and equipment located within and passing through such second area;

the third area comprises an at least semi-secure area and has a level of cleanliness that can be less than the second level of cleanliness but will substantially prevent contamination of hermetically sealed food packages received, conveyed and/or handled within the third area; and

whereby each such single-line processing room effectively comprises a separate food processing facility.

6. The food processing facility of claim 5, including an unsecure common fourth area that includes at least some of a break room, rest rooms, a locker room, an office and a reception area, and has a level of cleanliness that can be less than the third area level of cleanliness but is appropriate for management staff and personnel support activities.

7. The food processing facility of claim 6, including a plurality of sanitizing stations, at least one sanitizing station located between the fourth area and a second area and/or a third area which might be accessible from the fourth area, and at least one sanitizing station located between the delivery area and the second area and/or third area from which the delivery area may be accessed.

8. The food processing facility of claim 5, wherein the separate atmospherically and structurally isolated single-line food processing rooms structurally impede and restrict personnel assigned to any one such room from free movement between the food processing elements of the assigned room and the food processing elements of any other room to which they are not assigned.