The 90-page guide, “Controlling Pathogens in Dairy Processing Environments: Guidance for the U.S. Dairy Industry,” was authored by a team of dairy industry and sanitary design experts. It builds on previous guidance that focused on Listeria monocytogenes to include best practices to control Salmonella and Cronobacter Sakazakii.

“This is an important document for the industry that could not have come to life without the collaboration and leadership of several dairy industry food safety experts,” said David Kedzierski, vice president, food safety and regulatory affairs for Agri-Mark Inc./Cabot Creamery.

The guidance focuses on best practices for the separation of raw and ready-to-eat products, good manufacturing practices, sanitary facility and equipment design, principles of cleaning and sanitation and environmental monitoring programs. It includes easy-to-use checklists and is designed to be a one-stop reference document that the dairy industry can use to improve existing food safety programs to ensure adequate control of environmental pathogens, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy said.

Copies may be downloaded at www.usdairy.com/foodsafety for free. For information or questions, e-mail Tim Stubbs (tim.stubbs@dairy.org) or Chad Galer (chad.galer@dairy.org) with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.