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P. W. Bodnaruk and R. B. TOMPKIN. Armour Swift-Eckrich, 3131 Woodcreek Drive, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Areas exist in food processing environments that can maintain and support the growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Identification and effective cleaning of these environmental harborage areas can be beneficial with regard to eliminating potential food safety risks and providing improved product shelf life. Environmental harborage areas that cause problems can sometimes have direct product contact, such as on conveyors and conveyor rollers, or they may be in areas that do not directly contact product, such as on processing room floors. In some food industries, execution of a routine sanitation program may not be adequate to ensure the production of safe, wholesome foods. An unidentified niche or harborage area in the processing environment that is not cleaned effectively can be the cause of an intermittent or a continuous contamination problem. The contamination problem may lead to shortened shelf life or it may lead to contamination with pathogenic bacteria. For example, with currently available technology, it has not been possible to totally eradicate some pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, from the food processing environment. Harborage areas can be identified by investigational sampling and corrected by targeted cleaning efforts. In some instances, identification of a harborage may lead to equipment modifications so as to facilitate ease of cleaning. If areas exist on equipment that cannot be cleaned, then it may be necessary to totally eliminate them. This presentation will deal with techniques used to identify harborage areas, detail several specific harborage areas that are common in meat-processing facilities, and outline methods used to ensure that they do not pose a spoilage or food safety problem.