Page 13 - Critical Contamination
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FOOT BATHS
Good personal hygiene polices and practices, as well as • Often, there is so much organic material built up in the
HACCP procedures are the foundation for successful food container that there is no longer any sanitizer effectiveness.
safety and quality assurance in all food manufacturing facilities.
The goal is to have an effective barrier against microbial • Ordinary foot baths do not provide any scrubbing action
contamination from humans and/or equipment that travels and therefore do not keep users from treading sediment back
through food contact areas. into the processing environment.
Footwear can be a vehicle for the transfer of pathogens • The contaminated bleach in the foot baths need to be
from production areas deemed as high risk to low risk areas. disposed of safely.
Therefore between these areas, many facilities decontaminate
feet through the use of foot baths. • Foot baths are not only costly solutions to install and maintain,
but are disruptive to personnel workflow when using them.
With this in mind, there are a few points to consider:
• Foot baths can cause health and safety risks due to water
• In facilities or areas which utilise foot baths, it is essential spillage during usage i.e. slippages. Dry areas do not have
that they are monitored to make sure that a ‘bacteria bath’ this concern.
is not created.
• Chemicals within the baths can be tough on shoe material
• Foot baths need to be monitored not only for adequate through repeated cleaning regimes. This can be hazardous
concentration but also for appropriate volume of sanitising to critical environments if the shoes break down.
solution.
! Foot baths present a health & safety risk.
Water can cause personnel to slip.
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