The Growing Crisis of Anti-Microbial Resistance
Anti-microbials such as antibiotics and antifungals are medicines that prevent and treat diseases in animals, plants, and humans. When bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites develop resistances to these medicines, it’s called Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and it’s become a major concern in the food processing industry.
Why It’s Happening
Recently described as ‘the silent pandemic’, AMR in food processing is driven by the overuse of antibiotics in animal farming. Antibiotics are given to livestock as a preventative measure, instead of when animals are sick, which allows bacteria to develop resistances. Resistant bacteria can survive processing environments and enter the food supply chain which poses serious risks to consumers. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there are over 700k deaths a year linked to AMR. They estimate that without global intervention, deaths could surpass 10 million annually by 2050.
The Canadian government has phased out the use of medically important antimicrobials in livestock and are expanding surveillance programs to better manage and track resistant pathogens.
In the face of this growing threat, food processors need to ensure proper sanitization and food safety protocols are in place to protect workers and reduce the potential spread of harmful bacteria.
3 Ways to Stop the Spread
Sanitize Stations
Multi-step cleaning processes should always be followed to ensure maximum removal of organic matter from processing surfaces and tools. This includes pre-cleaning, washing, rinsing, sanitizing, and drying.
The Right Gear
Ensure workers are equipped with the right PPE. This includes gloves, sleeves, aprons, face shields, and hair nets, to prevent the spread of organic material to skin or clothes. Routine training on the proper donning and doffing of PPE is crucial to prevent cross contamination. Ensure single-use PPE is properly disposed of and contained, and reusable PPE is washed and sanitized between each use. Colour-coding systems that designate PPE to a specific task is another method to help prevent the spread of bacteria from area to area.
Enforce Hand Hygiene
Enforce strict handwashing and sanitizing protocols for all employees. Although handwashing might seem like common sense, a large percentage of people don’t actually wash with proper technique or for the amount of time required to properly remove harmful bacteria. Consider a short training session on proper hand hygiene and post step-by-step instructions by washing stations to reinforce adherence.
While you may not always have control of the products that enter your facility, you can control how safely your team handles them. Contact your Bunzl Safety expert for on-site safety training or any of your food processing PPE needs.
