Fig. 1: Opportunities for new scientific tools to implement and validate food safety control measures to mitigate microbial risks in industrial food production environments (FPE).
From: Food safety culture and the control of microbial communities in food production environments
Elements of the figure are discussed throughout this perspective. Control measures for microbial risks differ substantially between ‘low care’ and ‘high care’ zones. Low care areas, such as product storage zones, handle items unlikely to pose a contamination risk or that will undergo a kill step later. In contrast, high care areas manage ready-to-eat products or those with no further processing steps to reduce contamination risk. These areas may be physically connected, and all areas are subject to good manufacturing practices, including cleaning, zoning, and hygiene15. The central image (excluding the four surrounding text boxes) was created with a generative AI tool and adapted by the authors. Connected text boxes: Food Safety Control > Quality by Design Process > Solutions
