Uniforms Can Be Source For Cross-Contamination If Not Properly Maintained

Burbank, CA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that food borne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. According to ARAMARK Uniform Services (AUS), a supplier of uniforms and career apparel, one overlooked potential source of cross-contamination in a food plant lies in improperly cleaned uniforms and apparel. To help eliminate this potential source of cross-contamination, AUS maintains the strong position that uniforms and apparel must play an integral part of a food plant's Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system.

HACCP is a system of quality-control management placing responsibility on the manufacturers and handlers of food products. It is a preventative system, rather than an inspection-based system, and designed to identify and address potential problems before they occur, according to AUS. AUS claims that there currently is no established USDA or FDA guideline requiring processing plants, restaurants, retail meat, deli and bakery departments to use laundry services that are HACCP-compliant; however, there is an expectation that a sanitized, safe work environment must be maintained within the industry.

AUS claims that it has established sanitation standard operating procedures at all of its plants, and developed a HACCP plan to identify and document critical control points within the entire laundry process from pick-up to delivery. In addition, AUS, along with the Food Safety Institute International, offers the White Paper, "A Uniform Approach to HACCP." In the paper, the President of Food Safety Institute International, Al Baroudi, Ph.D, discusses how uniforms and apparel should be an integral part of a food plant's HACCP program, according to the company.

SOURCE: ARAMARK Uniform Services