Adhering to hygiene standards is vital during the manufacturing process of food, as it ensures the health and safety of consumers. This is a huge responsibility for any business producing food to be sold to customers. By having a strong focus on hygiene, manufacturers can ensure environments are safe, preventing foodborne bacteria and viruses from spreading via consumption.

In this article, we explore a few different ways to guarantee top product quality in food manufacturing.


Food hygiene statistics 

In order to understand the true importance of food hygiene, here are a few surprising statistics taken from recent reports from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

• Approximately 380,000 norovirus cases across the UK are linked to food – each year!
• The transmission pathways in food suggest that eating out accounts for over 35% of all foodborne norovirus cases, with takeaways making up 26%.
• Reports indicate that a staggering 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year within the UK

Develop a food safety program

If you want to run a business in the food or hospitality industry, there is nothing more important than making sure that you have a food hygiene program that everyone adheres to.

As we can see from the above statistics, food-induced illnesses are incredibly common throughout the UK, so your main objective should be to prevent any kind of food contamination. Following guidance from official bodies such as the FSA can help to ensure you’re on the right track. Check the official “how to stay safe” advice here.

Product standards 

When manufacturing food, you must ensure that the quality of the finished product is safe for consumption. Alongside this, each product must be identical in look, taste, and exact ingredients used. PH meters can help you to measure the level of acidity or alkalinity within your food. Product standards are determined by the physical, chemical, and microbiological aspects of the final creation.

Physical characteristics such as colour, shape, and consistency are important to producing a uniform batch of goods. Creating a list of product standards will help you to produce uniform batches time and time again – which when tested should all be perfectly safe for eating.

Training employees

Training your staff members in the importance of food hygiene is another tried and tested way to have successful results in food safety. Instilling the significance of this into your company values should demonstrate to employees that this is an integral part of their role.

Simple things such as wearing a hairnet, washing hands thoroughly before and after handling ingredients, and keeping a clean workbench, are all ways to help maintain a hygienic working environment.