Cleaning: This is the physical act of removing dirt, debris, stains from a particular surface to achieve a desired level of cleanliness. Cleaning can be one or all of these: scrapping, blowing, sweeping, wiping, washing etc. One common thing all these methods listed above have is the use of mechanical power to remove dirt and stains and improve the sanitary conditions of an item or a facility. Cleaning majorly removes physical contamination from surfaces and rarely acts as disinfectant except when the action is washing (with antimicrobial washing soap)

Sanitizing: This is the use of chemical to reduce microbial loads on a particular surface or on an equipment, it is mostly used after the completion of wet cleaning or damping with water and ATP test is completed, sanitizing should never be used to replace or substitute cleaning as the two techniques are different and are required for different purposes. You can say cleaning takes care of the physical contaminants and sanitizing takes care of the biological contaminants. Chemicals used as sanitizers can be of different types depending on their suitability in the process, type of intended products, material compatibility and also the nature of cleaning to be carried out.

The choice of cleaning technique is determined by the nature of the products and its constituent through risk assessment. Cleaning techniques should not be copied from another facility and implemented because each system is peculiar and needs proper assessment to determine suitable chemicals and method of cleaning. Dilution percentage of cleaning and sanitizing chemicals is also important in choosing the type of chemical to be used. In the case of ATP swabbing, sanitizing the line must come after ATP swabbing to wipe out any chemical deposits and to measure the efficacy of the cleaning done.

For a better understanding on cleaning and cleaning techniques, lets dive into the following:

1. Cleaning types
2. Cleaning category
3. Cleaning method

 Cleaning types:

a. Dry cleaning:  This is the type of cleaning where water is not used or added in any stage of dirt, stain, and debris removal. Dry cleaning is effective and mandatory in certain areas of a factory or on an item and can only be used if it is the best option as per risk assessment in terms of personnel safety and contamination point of view. E.g., dry cleaning is advised if the area is a dry area or the product in the facility is predominantly dry (areas like rice flour charging station, salt producing line can be cleaned using dry cleaning) Dry cleaning is not advisable in when there is a major sanitation non-conformance or cleaning of equipment or area with a potentially high microbial population or possibility of harboring microbes. Dry cleaning involves the use of scrapper, brush, telescopic rod, air (blower) to achieve results. Examples of wet and dry cleaning application

CORN SILO CLEANING – DRY

COCOA MELTING STATION – WET

ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS – DRY

STICKY PRODUCT ON FOOD CONVEYOR – CONTROLLED WET

b. Wet cleaning: This is suitably used in wet areas and (or) on equipment where dry cleaning can not be effective or unsafe, wet cleaning is the most efficient type of cleaning when it comes to deep cleaning. It is the addition of soap, water, scrub, brush, and sanitizer to achieve target cleaning. During wet cleaning, appropriate cleaning tools and PPEs should be used, and the seven (7) steps of wet cleaning followed to give results and getting it right first time.

7 Steps of Wet Cleaning:

Step 1: Disassemble, removal of sticky debris.

Step 2: Pre-Rinse

Step 3: Soaping and Scrubbing

Step 4: Final Rinsing

Step 5: Self Inspection

Step 6: Inspection

Step 7: Sanitizing.

Picture credit: Sterling Sanitation and Pest Control Services

c. Controlled wet or damping: This is used where dry cleaning proves ineffective and wet cleaning proves to be uncontrolled. A controlled use of water in a damp form is suggested, this type of cleaning is very suitable for many downtime cleaning situations, for sticky surfaces, certain sensitive equipment. In certain cases, controlled wet cleaning can be used after some minor maintenance work.

Cleaning categories:

a. Routine cleaning: These are cleaning activities that are carried out very regularly due to frequent use of equipment or area, potential contaminants, and easy accessibility to cleaning and inspection, they are done several times in a shift or day and in most cases has no specific number of times to be performed.

b. Periodic cleaning: Cleaning activities that are done on periodic basis on equipment and infrastructure are regarded as periodic cleaning; such cleaning is done on areas and equipment that are not easily accessible. This kind of cleaning is mostly planned in conjunction with periodic maintenance mainly because of the stress in dismantling of equipment parts. Periodic cleaning is not to be confused with equipment maintenance. Cleaning of overhead structures must be considered mandatory especially when it is directly on the food stream (food stream with or without canopy).

c. Operational cleaning: These are the cleanings that are done while there is production ongoing; they include constant sweeping of floor, mopping, wiping etc. They are done to keep the food producing area tidy (RTE – ready to eat areas) and free from potential contaminants that may occur from the environment or equipment.

d. Change over cleaning: Changeover cleaning is sensitive and needs proper attention to achieve its objective. It is a cleaning (deep cleaning) that involves removal of food dust, debris from a previously produced food in preparation for a new production. E.g., cleaning a food line that was used for rice production and getting it ready and fit for beans production (you can agree that rice should not be found inside a pack of beans even though it is not poison and won’t pose any threat to life, it gives the sense of poor cleaning and sanitation exercise). The objective of changeover cleaning to get a complete removal of a past product and its debris from the production line in preparation for another. This is Important for the prevention of product-to-product contamination.

e. Allergen cleaning: Allergen cleaning is used in a system where the same production line is used for production of allergic and non-allergic products. When an allergic product is produced and there is a proposed changeover to produce a non- allergy product, the cleaning done is allergy cleaning (this is better discussed in allergy management). A careful management is required to achieve production line, equipment, and surroundings free from allergy contamination. To ascertain an allergy free line, a rapid test for allergy presence or absence should be carried out before the line is released and passed for production.

Picture credit: RSSL

Cleaning method:

a. COP (cleaning out of place) manual cleaning: Just like the name implies, it is the cleaning of a removable part of equipment out of its original place using any of the cleaning types explained earlier. COP involves dismantling equipment parts for better reach into hard-to-reach areas and cleaning them thoroughly before reassembling them back. COP is done in a COP room and not at the place where the parts are removed from or any chosen part of the facility. This cleaning method is completely manual with no form of automation in the process. An example of COP is the dismantling of packaging machine parts and taking its parts to the cleaning room for cleaning and returning it for sanitizing and reassembling.

Picture credit: Sanitary Design Industries

b. CIP (Cleaning in place) automatic cleaning:  CIP means cleaning that takes place on equipment in its original location without moving it into a cleaning room, it is usually an automated system that involves Acid wash, Alkali wash, Disinfection, and rinsing. It is automated and there is no need for dismantling before residues are flushed out.

Picture credit: Sani-Matic, Inc.

NOTE: Some CIP processes are semi-automatic.