• Are the employees well-trained in what they do? You can avoid many problems by making sure that your employees clearly understand their functions.

• In handling food products, do your employees wear the proper hair covering and clean uniforms?

• Are your employees wearing jewelry, bandages, or have any illnesses, infections or injuries (i.e., boils, cuts) which can contaminate foods?

• Do your employees wash after each visit to the toilet?

• Do you have washing facilities available for your employees near their work stations, and do they use them when their hands become soiled or contaminated?
• You must display "reminder" posters in your rest rooms for employees to wash their hands.

• Do your employees maintain clean personal habits? They should keep their hands away from body surfaces, which are loaded with bacteria.

• Is the traffic within your plant controlled to prevent contamination of the processing areas?

• Have your employees been told the reasons why they should undertake the above precautions?

• Other Employee practices that need attention:

• Is the area around your firm clear of weeds, grass and brush? This sort of foliage can be an effective cover for pests to infiltrate your firm.

• Is there any standing water on your ground which also attracts pests?

• Other outside Plant conditions that I want to look into:

• Building/Facility
  OK		Needs Attention
  	Do windows and doors seal tightly to ward off pests and contaminants?
  	Do windows have fine mesh screens to keep out insects?
  	Will a pencil pass under the door? That's all the space required for a rodent to enter.
  	Have all holes and cracks been filled so as not to provide hiding places or entry points for pests?
  	Not only should your firm be free of vermin and pests--there shouldn't even be evidence of the presence of domestic animals such as cats and dogs.
  	Are rest rooms cleaned regularly?
  	Are the hand-washing facilities furnished with paper or air hand dryers and soap? The hand-washing facilities should be furnished with running water at a suitable temperature for washing hands. They should provide effective hand-washing and sanitizing preparations.

• Does the roof leak? This can add to the problems of humidity, standing water and product contamination.

• Are the overhead lights covered with shields to prevent contamination of products by broken glass in case the lamps burst?

• Other Building/Facility problems that need to be addressed:

• Is all equipment which comes in contact with food cleaned and sanitized as often as necessary to prevent contamination of the product? You should follow appropriate cleaning schedules for each piece of equipment.

• Is the equipment designed, or otherwise suitable, for use in a food plant? For example, equipment for handling or processing foods cannot contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), which are very toxic (this does not apply to electrical transformers and condensers containing PCB's in sealed containers).

• Is there a build-up of food or other static material on the equipment? This can serve as a breeding place for insects and bacteria.

• Is there any build-up or seepage of cleaning solvents or lubricants on your equipment which can contaminate foods? All repairs on equipment should be of a permanent nature (e.g., no bobby pins in place of cotter pins), as temporary repair parts can break or rupture and get in the food product.

• Is the equipment hard to disassemble for clean-up and inspection? The more difficult it is, the less inclined you or an employee will be to clean it.

• Is there a lot of "dead space" in or around the machinery where food and other debris can collect as a nest for insects and bacteria?

• Can the surface of the equipment be sanitized? Wood is one material that cannot.

• Other Equipment cleaning and maintenance issues that should be covered:

• Are trash, debris, and clutter picked up so as not to provide hiding places for pests?

• Do employees eat and smoke only in designated areas?

• Is the food spilled or uneaten by employees cleaned up quickly so as not to attract pests or breed bacteria?

• Has old rodent excreta been cleaned up so you can spot any new activity?

• Additional Housekeeping duties that must be attended to:

• Is garbage quickly removed and dumped in appropriate bins? It should not sit around your facilities to attract pests.

• Is the garbage kept covered? An open garbage pile is an excellent breeding ground for insects and rodents.

• Other Garbage-handling problems that should be explored:

• Is the water used in your firm from an approved source (either municipal supply or tested private source)?

• Have you made sure there are no hoses left dangling in sinks or on the ground? Loss of pressure can cause a back flow that will contaminate your water supply.

• Do your facilities have back flow and vacuum breaker valves to prevent contaminate your water supply?

• Avoid standing water around your firm.

• Does your building have dripping condensation or leaky plumbing which can contaminate foods?

• Are you keeping the humidity in your operation low? Molds, insects and bacteria thrive in damp climate.

• Are storage areas intended for room temperature subject to extremes of temperature, either hot or cold? This can damage foods.
• For refrigeration storage, coolers should be kept at or below 40 degrees F.
• For freezer storage, the temperature should be kept at or below 0 degrees F.

• Are you keeping a record of temperatures for all storage areas on a regular basis?

• Are you keeping your facilities at the proper temperature range? Insects love high temperatures, and their activity will pick up as the temperature goes up.

• 	Additional Temperature-related difficulties to explore: Incoming Raw Materials OK   Needs Attention Have you checked to see that the compartment door seals on the truck are intact? Is there a clean smell when the compartment doors are opened, or are there signs of contamination such as petroleum distillate, putrefaction, or other off-odors? Is any refrigerated compartment set at the proper temperature? Are boxes properly stacked and intact? Is there evidence of activity by insects, rodents or birds? Is there evidence of the misuse of pesticides such as DDT tracking powder, 1080, or insect sprays? Additional problems that should be dealt with on Incoming Raw Materials:         The FDA publication Inspecting Incoming Food Materials will provide further information on conducting an inspection of incoming food materials.     Storage of Raw Materials and Products OK   Needs Attention Is the storage area over-crowded? Such a condition prevents adequate inspection and clean-up and also increases the likelihood of damage to products during handling. Are products stored on pallets and at least 18 inches away from the walls? It is important to leave space for inspection aisles so that rodent and insect activity can be seen more readily. You might consider painting a white line on the floor along the walls to indicate inspection aisles. Other Storage problems that should be corrected:       Rotation OK   Needs Attention Are products stored on a first-in, first-out basis to reduce the possibility of contamination through spoilage? Are old products kept in front of the new to help in the rotation process?
  	Are all incoming products dated to ensure a proper rotation of stocks?
  	Are items overstocked? This increases the chances of spoilage and contamination.
  	When checking containers for contamination, are dusty, faded or discolored containers checked first? They are obviously the most suspect items.
  	Additional issues to address on the Rotation process:
  Quarantine
  OK		Needs Attention
  	Are all products spoiled by damage, insects, rodents or other causes stored in a designated "Quarantine Area" to prevent their contact with safe products?
  	Are such quarantined items disposed of quickly to prevent the development of pest breeding places?
  	Are incoming materials inspected for damage or contamination so that they can be rejected?
  	Other problems to address in the Quarantine procedure:
  Pest Control
  OK		Needs Attention
  	If you hire an outside pest control operator. you should:
  	Check regularly on what the pest control operator is doing. Don't accept what he's doing on faith.
  	Check to see what poisons he is using. Make sure the poisons do not contaminate foods.
  	Learn where and how many bait stations there are. They should be placed so as not to present any chance of food contamination. They should be checked regularly.

• Check to see if fumigators are being used. Do they represent a hazard to employees or food safety?

If doing your own exterminating, you should:

• Know there is no such thing as an all-purpose pesticide, especially where foods are concerned. Get qualified advice before using any poisons.

• Make a map showing locations of all traps, bait stations, etc., and check them regularly.

• Put money into building maintenance if that will help solve your pest problems. For instance, don't rely solely on rodenticides to control your pest problem and leave gaps in the doors for the rodents to enter. Make sure those gaps are sealed. Extermination is a poor second choice, and will cost you as much, or more, in the long run.

• Other Pest Control situations to explore:

• Are materials such as pesticides, herbicides, cleaning solvents, lubricants and boiler compounds accessible for use only by authorized employees? This will help prevent accidents such as food contamination and employee injuries due to ignorance and misuse.

• Additional situations to consider regarding Hazardous Material Storage:

• Are all hazardous materials kept in bottles, or drums, or boxes that reflect their dangerous nature?

• Even non-hazardous materials should be labeled correctly. Several babies died in a hospital because salt was mistakenly used for sugar in their formulae.

• Make sure that any labels you market comply with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and Fair Packaging and Labeling Act.

• Other questions on Labeling that need to be considered:

• Make certain that the food additives you use are suitable and safe for the intended purposes.

• Other issues regarding Food Additives to be resolved:

• Do you have an effective recall procedure set up?

• Other considerations on Product Codes: