What a dedicated hygiene function brings

A dedicated hygiene function is one where hygiene is the only job. It brings a single point of ownership, specialist knowledge and a steady routine.

Food manufacturing sites are run by capable managers with broad responsibilities. Hygiene is a technical discipline in its own right. It covers chemistry, microbiology, documentation and the standard of work on a night shift, and it benefits from someone whose only job is to own it.

A dedicated function brings:

• One owner for the result, from the clean itself to the records that prove it.
• Continuity. Documentation, follow-up on monitoring results and cleaning verification are kept current week by week, whatever the production plan is doing.
• Audit evidence that is ready. It builds as the work is done, so an audit date is simply a date in the diary.
• Room to grow. A new line, a new customer or a busy season is planned for in hygiene terms from the start.

Sites arrive at this in different ways: with hygiene managers and supervisors employed in-house, or with a specialist function such as TOHS. What matters is that the standard is held consistently and reported to BRCGS or customer standards.

A useful question to ask: who owns the hygiene result on this site, and what would a single point of ownership make possible?