Page 69 - FoodFocusThailand No.238 January-February 2026

STRONG QC & QA

1. Prevent pathogens from entering the actions must be taken, such as conducting a root cause
production area. investigation, increasing the intensity of cleaning or machine
2. Eliminate microbial accumulation maintenance, and performing re-monitoring to confirm that the
points or harborage sites, such as biofilm risk is back under control.
formation on infrastructure and machinery.
3. Control cross-contamination in Towards Sustainable Risk Management
accordance with GMP principles. Sustainable food safety risk management involves monitoring,
4. Develop and implement effective verifying, and analyzing data collected from all parts of the
cleaning and sanitation programs. factory and integrating them into a single picture. The use of a
5. Conduct regular monitoring and data analysis system can transform data from ATP testing,
verification to confirm that control measures are microbial testing, and pathogen testing into meaningful
effective. insights. This enables management to visualize problem
2. Production Process: The risk of trends and high-risk points in real-time, supporting to proactive
pathogen spread can occur throughout the entire decision-making to confidently and sustainably enhance food
production line, including during preparation, safety in the long term.
mixing, and line changes. Therefore, risk
management at this stage should focus on the
following measures:
• Defining Critical Control Points (CCPs) and More Information Service Info C012
Operational Prerequisite Programs (OPRPs).
• Segregating production areas based on เอกสารอ้างอิง / References
risk level (Zoning). • Sohier, D. Tackling Pathogens’ Persistence with Smart Monitoring and
• Strictly preventing cross-contamination Digital Power. Scientific Affairs Presentation, November 9, 2025.
between raw materials and finished products. • John Holah, Food Protection Trends, DOI: 10.4315/FPT-21-038
3. Product Safety: The final risk to be • https://mygfsi.com/news_updates/global-collaboration-enhanced-
controlled is the safety of the finished product, food-safety-the-benchmarking-requirements-2024-unveiled/
which includes:
• Contamination by pathogenic
microorganisms.
• Allergens that may affect consumers.
Failure to control risks at this stage can
lead to consumer complaints or product recalls.
Implementing rapid testing technologies helps
accelerate decision-making and increases
confidence in releasing products to the market.

Monitoring, Verification, and Proactive
Decision-Making
Continuous monitoring and verification are key
to confirming the effectiveness of risk control
measures and comprise the following:
• ATP testing is used to verify the
effectiveness of cleaning in the production
area. It can rapidly assess cleanliness levels
within seconds. If abnormally high values are
detected, this may indicate the accumulation of
dirt or the formation of biofilm.
• Testing for indicator and pathogenic
bacteria, such as Total Plate Count, Coliform,
Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella, or Listeria,
helps reflect the overall hygiene level of the
production process. User-friendly methods and
tools are now available, enabling quick and
timely responses to potential risks.
• Effective response and correction
actions: When test results exceed the
established criteria, immediate corrective

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