4. Toilet Rooms

Toilet rooms can easily become a source of potential contamination of product. Care should be taken in the design of these rooms from their location in the establishment’s layout to the number of toilets provided. Consider the following guidelines:

  • Toilet rooms need to be separated from the room s and compartments in which products are prepared, stored, or handled.
  • Toilet rooms that open directly in to rooms where meat products are exposed should have self-closing doors and should be ventilated to the outside of the building.
  • Toilet rooms should be arranged so they are entered through an intervening dressing room or vestibule and not directly from a production or storage room.

5. Eating Rooms and Areas

To prevent employees from contaminating products or contaminating their food with microorganisms from the raw products or from their working environment consider the following:

  • Separate eating rooms or areas should be provided for employees.

6. Handwash Sinks

One of the most important steps you can take to prevent cross contamination of product by your employees is to provide conveniently located handwash sinks. Handwash sinks are needed in toilet rooms, dressing (locker) rooms, and production rooms. Consider the following guidelines when making decisions as to where you need a handwash sink:

  • Handwash sinks are needed near toilet rooms and dressing (locker) rooms. They should be other than hand operated. There should be hot and cold running water, soap , and towels. Single use towels should be used.
  • Handwash sinks in welfare rooms and areas should have a combination mixing faucet delivering both hot and cold water with an high enough above the rim of the bow l to enable the washing of arms as well as hands.

7. Ventilation

In designing your welfare rooms, such as toilet and dressing rooms, care should be taken to make sure that they are ventilated to prevent odors from entering production areas. Consider the following guidelines:

  • Welfare rooms that are not air conditioned should be mechanically ventilated through an exhaust fan taking air to the outside. Airflow from welfare rooms should be released outside the establishment.
  • Toilet and dressing rooms that are located where non atural ventilation is available should be equipped with an exhaust fan (activated by a common switch with the lighting in the area) and a duct leading to the outside. Doors to dressing and toilet rooms ventilated in this manner should have a louvered section about 12 inches by 12 inches minimum in the lower panel to facilitate airflow.

8. Employees Working in Inedible Product Areas
Association of employees working in inedible product areas with other employees through common welfare rooms increases the risk of cross contamination of product. To minimize this risk to product, consider the following guidelines:

  • Separate welfare rooms for employees working in areas such as hide cellars, condemned or inedible product rooms, or live animal holding areas, from welfare rooms of other employees working with raw or heat processed , exposed , edible product.
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