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Validation of cleaning
Thorough cleaning is a crucial prerequisite to sound hygienic conditions in any food manufacturing
environment. Cleaning protocols must be validated in order to provide assurance that they do, in fact,
serve their purpose: to clean the surfaces to a level that avoids the possibility of cross-contamination.
In relation to food production, the main cross-contamination hazards are physical, chemical, biological
and allergenic. Depending on the products intended consumers, the process and procedure for the
control of the hazards may vary significantly.

According to the BRC Food Safety Global View 2015, analysis of audit data, sampled from 17,113 sites
in 2014, has enabled identification of vital trends relating to food safety and hygiene in food
production worldwide. The most frequent non-conformities that emerged globally were concerned
with Documenting Cleaning Procedures (Clause 4.11.1), with 18.3% prevalence across all sites,
followed by Door Maintenance (Clause 4.4.9) and Chemical Control Processes (Clause 4.9.1.1). In
particular, Housekeeping and Hygiene (Section 4.11) presented the most problematic set of criteria,
suggesting that all categories’ sites needed to improve the maintenance of their housekeeping and
cleaning systems.

This paper discusses the development of a cleaning regime, deciding the level of clean required by
assessment of the product risk and process, how to validate the cleaning regime, and sampling
techniques used to validate the efficiency of a cleaning procedure.

For further information on this and other similar topics please contact:
[email protected]
+44()1386 842038

or [email protected]
+44(0)1386 842272

Issued: June 2016

Campden BRI, Registered no. 510618, Incorporated in England & Wales

Registered Office: Station Road, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. GL55 6LD
Part of Campden BRI Group

Information emanating from Campden BRI is given after the

exercise of all reasonable care and skill in its compilation, preparation
and issue, but is provided without liability in its application and use.
National and international legislation requires the food industry to ensure that food placed on the
market is safe. EC/178/2002 states that the products should not be injurious to health or unfit for
human consumption, whilst the Machinery Directive (EC Directive 2006/42) requires that equipment
manufacturers should provide cleanable equipment. When looking at external accreditations, section
5.3 in the BRC Global Food Standard version 7 specifically relates to management of allergens. In
particular section 5.3.8 states that “Equipment or area cleaning procedures shall be designed to
remove or reduce to acceptable levels any potential cross-contamination by allergens. The cleaning
methods shall be validated to ensure they are effective and the effectiveness of the procedure routinely
verified. Cleaning equipment used to clean allergenic materials shall either be identifiable and specific
for allergen use, single use, or effectively cleaned after use.”

The purpose of cleaning validation is to demonstrate that a specified, documented cleaning regime is
capable to a predetermined limit, directing the activity towards ensuring that food is safely produced.
The verification provides a quality control method to determine the effectiveness of a cleaning process
for a specific cleaning event. Verification can be carried out on a regular basis and if results are found
to be out of specification, actions can be made immediately to rectify the problem. Cleaning validation
and verification may be carried out on many items, depending on the risk to the product, including
equipment, personnel and protective clothing identified as potential sources of cross-contamination.

This report coincides with the release of Document 45 – Part 1 entitled ‘Cleaning validation in the food
industry - general principles’ from the European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEDG, 2016).
EHEDG was set up to provide best practice guidance on hygienic engineering and design for food
equipment manufactured in or imported into Europe. Its network of experts disseminates knowledge
on the design, installation and cleanability of components and also helps to specify best practices for
hygienic operations, supply and maintenance. The cleaning validation document was designed by
several experts in the field (examples include representatives from food and chemical manufacturers,
consultants and universities) and provides a step by step guide on how to undertake and report a
cleaning validation within the food industry.

Cleaning validation
Cleaning validation has been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. In 1988 the FDA raised
concerns over a company producing a bulk pharmaceutical chemical contaminated with low level
ingredients from the production of agricultural pesticides. The cross-contamination was believed to be
due to the reuse of recovered solvents that had been contaminated due to lack of control over the
reuse of solvent drums. The issue was significant and posed a serious health risk to the public. The FSA
later set up standards and guidelines on best practice for the pharmaceutical and food industry, in
order to avoid cross-over from one process to another via poor cleaning processes.

Recently published, Document 45 - Part 1, from EHEDG (2016), defines cleaning validation as
“Obtaining the documented evidence that cleaning with or without disinfection processes, if properly
implemented, is consistently effective at achieving a predefined level of hygiene on product contact
surfaces identified during the hazard evaluation.”

For clarity it is important to know the difference between validation, monitoring and verification, as
they are commonly confused:
  Validation is obtaining proof through the provision of objective evidence that a control or
measure, if properly implemented, is capable of delivering the specified outcome.
 Monitoring is defined, in ISO 22000, as “conducting a planned sequence of observations of
measurements to assess whether control measures are operating as intended.”
 Verification is defined, in ISO 22000, as “confirmation, through the provision of objective
evidence, that specified requirements have been fulfilled.”

When developing a cleaning regime and validation, the first steps involve understanding the item to be
cleaned, the risk to the product, and the chemicals to be used. It is important to identify the hazards.
This may involve ensuring that equipment has been suitability designed for cleaning, for example it is
drainable and the chemicals used will not have a detrimental effect on the surface. Assessing the
design may include finding dead legs, where food debris or microorganisms can harbour, thereby
decreasing the full impact of the cleaning process.

An understanding of the food and process is important in order to identify the degree of cleanliness
that is required. This may take into consideration the food safety level expected in the end product; for
example, if the product is ready-to-eat and microorganisms will not be removed via any heating step
before eating, controls must be in place in the factory to ensure that only safe food reaches the end
consumer. It is essential to know the ingredients and possible cross-over risks between batches of, for
example, allergens, DNA, and microbiological or chemical residues. In this case, the timing of cleaning
is important and needs to be defined, documented, controlled and monitored. Details about the
method, cleaning agents, contact time and monitoring methods must be available and adhered to.

Developing a cleaning regime

There are many factors that come into play when developing a cleaning programme; for example:

What are you cleaning? i.e. materials of construction, size of object, area where the equipment is
installed, design and accessibility and can they withstand the conditions of certain chemicals? Also
what debris is to be removed and what are the risks if the debris are not removed?

Where are you cleaning? high risk, low risk, aseptic etc. Some parts may be removed and washed in a
separate area (cleaning out of place - COP) or cleaned in place (CIP). When cleaning in specific rooms,
is the clean and dirty equipment fully segregated?

When is cleaning carried out? depending on risk and frequency of product change over, the cleaning
times may be hourly, daily or weekly. Is this a routine clean or a deep clean? Cleaning may be during
production or out of production, which may impact the spread of contamination during cleaning.

Why are you cleaning? to remove food debris, allergens, or prevent microbial or chemical build up?

Finally how? This relies on firstly answering the above questions. When it comes to how the methods
are also important to question:

 High pressure air or water results in the movement of debris and dirt. It is important that these
actions are controlled (again depending on risk) as studies have found that high pressure water
can transport contamination from point of source as far as 4 m high and 7 m away from the
cleaning area. This has the potential to contaminate surfaces of equipment in wide open spaces.
 It brings back the question where are you cleaning? If production lines are still running there is a
large risk of cross-contamination spreading to open product in the area from the cleaning
operations.

 Floor scrubbers and other mechanical cleaning apparatus, if used, need to be controlled, cleaned
and maintained regularly. If not cleaned sufficiently they may only spread contamination around.

 Steam cleaning methods have become more popular for cleaning applications and have interests
in the dry food industry in relation to controlled wetting. The suitability of this method for the
surfaces is important to consider to avoid damage to the facade.

Cleaning incorporates 4 main factors: chemical, mechanical, time and temperature in varying amounts
depending on the method used (i.e for CIP it is mainly chemical and temperature as opposed to
mechanical, using liquid flow to achieve some mechanical benefits; in contrast, manual cleaning
incorporates more mechanical action). Validation is confirmation that the method meets the
requirements for a specific intended use - that is, that the method is fit for purpose.

Deciding the level of clean

Advice from the APIC (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Committee, 2014) recommended that at least
three levels of cleaning in the production of a commercial product may be implemented. They use the
approach outlined in Table 1; however, they state that additional levels might be necessary depending
on the nature of the process and requirements of individual companies. Just as in the food industry
these should always be based on risk assessment, where the characteristics of the previous and
subsequent products such as solubility, nature of residues, and process step, etc. should be
considered.

Table 1: Levels of cleaning advised by APIC (2014)

Level Thoroughness of cleaning Risk Verification Validation
Visual Analytical
2 Carryover of the previous High Yes Yes Mandatory
product is critical. Cleaning
required until predetermined
stringent carry over limits are
met.
1 Carryover of the previous Medium Yes Yes Recommended
product is less critical. Cleaning
should reduce the potential
carry over to a less stringent
limit as required for level 2.
0 Only gross cleaning if carryover Low Yes No No
of the previous product is not
critical.
Validating the cleaning regime

The cleaning validation involves a series of stages over the lifecycle of the product and cleaning
process. The first stage involves process design. This requires evaluation of the chemical and physical
properties of the residue, determining the most difficult to clean residue and evaluating the residue’s
solubility and stability. The next stage involves demonstrating that the cleaning procedure works as
expected, determining the type of cleaning to be used (e.g CIP, manual, etc) and the control
parameters (e.g. temperature, flow rates, pressure, etc.) required. It also assesses where the most
difficult to clean locations are and how to train operators. Cleaning validation does not stop there, as
there needs to be a continual assessment of the cleaning in the form of verification and monitoring.
The cleaning process should remain in control throughout the product lifecycle and if elements of the
cleaning process changes then re-validation should be carried out.

Cleaning validation can be based on either one of two methods: one based on evidence obtained
through testing and one based on the analysis of historical data (retrospective validation). Validation
through testing is preferred and may include challenge or worst-case tests, which determine the
robustness of the cleaning process. It can be considered as a three step process, involving firstly
cleaning and rinsing of the surfaces, sampling any residues that might still remain on those surfaces
and analyzing the sampled materials with the appropriate methods.

In order to validate a cleaning regime it is vital to determine/quantify ‘how clean is clean’, in other
words know the acceptance criteria. This may be measured in CFU/ml for microorganisms or μg/cm²
for organic matter or allergens. In the case of pathogens and allergens, absence is usually required on
food contact surfaces after cleaning. Another method that can be utilised is ATP (adenosine
triphosphate) swabbing. This measures the amount of residual organic matter on a surface. Depending
on the food produced, different processing industries and surfaces will have variations in acceptable
levels. For example, ATP levels may be much higher in a fresh fruit preparation facility as opposed to a
bakery due to the nature of the product. ATP monitoring is a common rapid testing method used by
food and beverage processors to quickly assess the cleanliness of surfaces or liquid samples. Pass and
fail limits of ‘clean’ should be determined by the facility and documented as to how they were
determined. The percentage reduction in soiling from dirty to cleaned surfaces can be used as an
indicator of cleanliness.

Once the cleaning regime has been established, one can set up a suitable soiling procedure to assess
the efficacy of the clean to remove a worst-case contamination. This involves soiling a surface with a
known contaminant (be that microbial, allergen or organic matter) and cleaning using the protocol
defined. The cleaned surface would then be sampled to assess the reduction in contamination that
would be worst-case scenario. The assessment is best carried out in difficult to reach areas or rough
surfaces that may harbour microbial, allergen or organic matter. Advice from EHEDG (2016) suggests
that a minimum of three consecutive trials that meet the validation objectives are required for a
successful validation. If any test does not meet the validation objectives the validation process must be
stopped and the cleaning procedure and validation protocol reviewed. Often, the locations that are
the hardest to access will have to receive special attention to assure that they have been cleaned
sufficiently.

To determine the degree of cleanliness this, in first instance, could be carried out via visual analysis;
however, many systems in place do not provide the luxury of seeing all food contact surfaces. Also
much of the contamination that may be on the surface may not be visable to the eye, so must be
measured via other methods such as chemical, microbiological or allergenic residue testing.
It is very important to highlight that a change in process, product and cleaning regime requires a re-
validation, which should follow the same steps as the initial validation.

Sampling techniques used to validate the efficiency of a cleaning procedure

The major sampling methods for cleaning validation are swabbing, contact plates, rinse sampling and
placebo sampling. An evaluation of the effectiveness of cleaning can be carried out by adding dye to
product surrogates, then swabbing the surfaces and analysing the swab for traces of the dye or by
testing for unmodified product residues or detergent residues (Cooper, 1997). When using surrogates,
the closeness to the original product is vital. Using swabs has the advantage of physical removal of
contaminants, whilst sampling rinse water can deal with a larger area and reach otherwise inaccessible
areas. Both, however, may not have the required removal efficiency. When sampling rinse water the
whole equipment surface is rinsed with a known volume of water and solvent; a representative,
homogeneous sample must be taken. In relation to placebos, water, glycol or starch are used to
sample encapsulation, mixing or tabletting machinery in the medical industry.

Other methods can be carried out to verify suitability of the cleaning chemicals, such as conductivity
measurements to assess the detergent concentration, alkalinity tests or measurement of the
concentration of complexing agents. Protein residual measurements are also a common method to
assess proteinaceous debris removal. More complex methods can be used to monitor the efficiency of
a cleaning process such as PCR measurement (Polymerase Chain Reaction), TOC-analysis (Total Organic
Carbon), HPLC, GLC and GC (common chromatography methods used in analytical chemistry) and
immunochemistry analysis such as ELISA (method based on analysis of antibodies and antigens) or
SDS PAGE : determination of pyrogens and denatured proteins.

Cooper (1997) suggests that a typical cleaning validation study may employ pH, conductivity, total
organic carbon (TOC), detergent assays and a product-specific assay. Analyses should be compared for
precision, accuracy, detection limits, quantification limits, selectivity, linearity, range and sensitivity.

Conclusion
Cleaning validation is a vital part of hygiene prerequisite control within the food industry. It provides
confirmation of reproducibility of not only CIP systems, but also manual cleaning procedures. It can
lead to improvements in the level of food safety and reduce liability by showing due diligence. It shows
confirmation of the removal of allergens, product residues and cleaning solutions.

As mentioned earlier, Housekeeping and Hygiene (Section 4.11) was one of the main issues in relation
to non-conformances in BRC audits in 2014 (BRC, 2015). Section 4.11 states: “Housekeeping and
cleaning systems shall be in place which ensure appropriate standards of hygiene are maintained at all
times and the risk of product contamination is minimised.” In particular clause 4.11.1, documenting
cleaning procedures, was most prominently overlooked. It has been said that if something isn’t
recorded there is no proof that it has taken place. Sound documentation is important in order to show
that there is validated evidence that correct practices have been chosen in relation to cleaning.

Verification and monitoring can be continually used to ensure that the processes are kept in control
throughout the lifecycle of both the equipment and the process. Records of these are important for
trending and to provide evidence for due diligence. It is important to develop a suitable cleaning
regime, decide the level of clean required by assessment of the product risk and process and use
robust validation techniques to prove that the cleaning is reproducibly safe.

For further information on this and other similar topics please contact:
[email protected] or [email protected]

Further reading can be obtained via the following links:

 Validation of cleaning to remove food allergens (Guideline no 59). Copies available at:
https://www.campdenbri.co.uk/publications/pubDetails.php?pubsID=2487
 Document 45 – Part 1, Cleaning validation in the food industry- general principles, 2016,
accessed online: 14/06/16; http://ehedg.org/uploads/DOC_45_E_2016.pdf

References

Apic, 2014, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Committee (apic), Guidance on aspects of cleaning
validation in active pharmaceutical ingredient plants, accessed online: 17/06/16;
http://apic.cefic.org/pub/APIC_Cleaning_Validation_2014.pdf

BRC, 2015, BRC Food Safety Global View 2015 accessed online: 14/06/16;
http://www.brcglobalstandards.com/Portals/0/library/files/knowledgecentre/Food%20Safety%20-
%20A%20Global%20View%202015.pdf

Cooper, D. W. 1997, Pharmaceutical Technology Asia, Cleaning, Validating and Monitoring Aseptic Fill
Areas, accessed online: 17/06/16;
https://www.texwipe.com/files/pdfs/published_papers/cleaning_validating_and_monitoring_aseptic_
fill_areas.pdf

Directive 2006/42/EC (2006) on machinery, amending directive 95/16/EC

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:157:0024:0086:en:PDF

Document 45 – Part 1, Cleaning validation in the food industry- general principles, 2016, accessed
online: 14/06/16; http://ehedg.org/uploads/DOC_45_E_2016.pdf

ISO 22000:2005 Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food
chain

Regulations 178/2002 EC laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing
the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, 28 January
2002. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2002:031:0001:0024:en:PDF