What decides the outcome is not the visible surface but the order of the steps: disinfection only works reliably once fat, protein and mineral deposits have been removed beforehand.
In food production what counts is not visible cleanliness but the residue profile that has been removed: fat, protein, minerals and biofilms must be eliminated in the sequence alkaline, acid, rinse, disinfect – if a step is skipped, the cause remains on the plant. Responsibility for HACCP and food safety remains with the food business operator; a contractor supplies the cleaning and its documentation.
Food businesses have long had a system for cleaning: cleaning plans, responsible persons, evidence, audits. It becomes difficult in three places. First, the plant dictates cleanability: conveyor screws, mixers, filling nozzles, seals, weld seams, dead corners and valve seats are the places where residues survive – a point that is poorly accessible by design does not improve by scrubbing for longer. Second, evidence is not self-explanatory: an ATP value below a threshold shows little organic residual material, but not that no pathogenic germs are present; anyone who fails to make that distinction bases a release decision on a misunderstanding. Third, cleaning competes with production time: if contact time is shortened or the order is swapped, the result no longer matches the agreed procedure. The roles must be kept separate here: the operator and food business operator is the producer, the client for the cleaning may be the same business or a group structure, and the contractor carries out the cleaning according to the agreed procedure.
At the start stands the agreement of the procedure: hygiene zones, plant design, product residues, release criteria and the permissible agents are clarified with the client. The deployment then follows the chemistry of the residues. First, dry clearance so that water does not spread loose residues over the whole plant. Pre-rinsing follows with a deliberately chosen temperature, because water that is too hot denatures protein and bakes it on. The alkaline stage removes fat and protein, the acid stage mineral deposits such as lime and milk stone. Then clear rinsing and checking of the pH value, because otherwise cleaning agent residues neutralise the disinfectant. Only on the clean, neutral surface does disinfection follow, according to the specified concentration and contact time. Assessment, release and documentation close the sequence – the operator grants the release of the plant for production.
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Microorganisms sit in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances that acts as a diffusion barrier: disinfectants reach the enclosed cells poorly, and organic residues consume the active substance. That is why removal of the matrix comes before disinfection.
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 obliges the food business operator to work according to HACCP principles. A contractor supplies cleaning and documentation and supports this system – it does not take it over.
Cleaning competes with production time. If contact time is shortened or the order swapped, the validation is no longer valid – even if the plant looks clean on the outside.
Process
Hygiene zones, plant type, product residues and permissible agents are clarified; the client's release criteria and sampling plan are recorded.
Loose residues are cleared, then pre-rinsing takes place with a deliberately chosen temperature. Anyone who rinses first spreads product residues over the whole plant.
The alkaline stage acts against fat and protein, the acid stage against mineral deposits. Concentration, temperature and contact time follow the soiling and the material.
Cleaning agent residues are rinsed out and the pH value is checked before disinfection. Agent, concentration and contact time follow the manufacturer's specification and the client's release.
Visual inspection; whether a rapid test is additionally run according to the client's sampling plan is agreed in advance. The operator grants the release of the plant for production. The report records plant, section, agent, concentration, time, personnel, finding and deviation.
This service sits within a framework of statutory duties, technical rulebooks and operational practice. The distinction matters because it determines who is responsible for what.
The rulebooks named here describe requirements for how the work is carried out – they are not a certification held by BREREI. VDI and DIN normative texts are chargeable and were not available in full; where a statement touches the normative detail, this is noted in place.
These references describe the requirements the work is performed against. They are not a certification, inspection or approval held by BREREI.
Short answers to help you assess whether this service fits your site.
The food business operator. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 obliges it to set up, apply and maintain procedures based on HACCP principles, and it requires cleaning and, where necessary, disinfection in the businesses. A cleaning contractor carries out work according to the agreed procedure and documents it; it thereby contributes to compliance but takes over neither the hygiene system nor product release.
The sequence and the evidence. In food production, work follows the residue profile – dry before wet, alkaline against fat and protein, acid against minerals, clear rinsing, disinfection – and the result is assessed and documented. Added to that is the separation of hygiene zones: tools, equipment and personnel are deployed separately per zone so that residues are not carried across.
ATP bioluminescence shows organic residual material at a defined point and is therefore a rapid process indicator. The test shows no germ species and no pathogenic germs. A value below a threshold set by the business is not evidence of product safety, and a conspicuous value is not evidence of contamination – both are indications for process control. Microbiological statements require an agreed sampling plan with laboratory analysis.
With defined cleaning steps, a validation of effectiveness and an allergen-specific verification at defined points – for example protein- or ELISA-based methods – supplemented by documentation of agents, concentrations and contact times. What matters is that client and contractor agree in advance which residue limits apply at which points. A blanket assurance that a plant is allergen-free after cleaning is not tenable; the release is granted by the operator.
No. Both are private certification schemes of the retail trade. They become binding through the supply contract with a customer who requires a certificate – that is, economically, not legally. Legally binding, by contrast, is the hygiene law of the EU and the member states, in particular Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 with its HACCP requirements. DIN 10516 is a private norm and likewise not a statute.
Usually a cleaning report with plant reference, time window, agents used, concentrations and contact times, areas worked on, findings and deviations encountered as well as documentation of follow-up checks. Whether these documents meet the requirements of a specific standard is decided by the auditor on the basis of the business's hygiene system; a cleaning report is not a certificate of conformity and not a certificate. So specify in the tender what scope of documentation your standard requires.
The industry page sets out which requirements apply there.
For a procedure proposal we need details of the plant type, hygiene zones, residue profile and the evidence your audit requires – from that comes a description of the work required. Send us your plant, products and working windows via the enquiry form. We do not give assurances of audit conformity.
Service, property and contact details – that is all we need.
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