18.07.2011

On 18.07.2011, in its programme WISO the German TV channel ZDF broadcasted a report on the lack of vehicle hygiene in the transportation of flour and the consequent mould growth. ZDF report “Food transportation”.

Despite a previous request from the ZDF and detailed information from our side on the Saalemühle procedure, the WISO editorial staff unfortunately decided against cooperating with us. We are not aware of the reasons for this decision. Perhaps we did not fit the desired image.

Unfortunately, this report gives rise to the impression that the hygiene deficiencies shown apply to the entire milling industry without exception.

For this reason, it is very important for us to describe transparently and in detail the procedures at Saalemühle with regard to vehicle hygiene, for the thorough cleaning and regular inspections of silo vehicles, for us as a quality-conscious milling operation, are our top priority and a matter of course!

We see the transport of our products as a link in the overall process chain, which we subject to a continuous risk assessment as part of our due diligence. As part of our HACCP system, all potential risks that can have a negative impact on product quality through transport are examined and weighted and corresponding measures are defined.

This includes both ensuring the hygiene status and preventing contamination from foreign objects or foreign substances for transport of "loose products" in silo vehicles. For our measures, we distinguish between two possible types of transport:

Transport by external forwarders:

1. Before being awarded the contract, each forwarding company must confirm our "Hygiene rules for forwarders' vehicles." Only freight forwarders who have given us written confirmation of these guidelines are approved.
2. Before loading, specially trained employees from the quality assurance department carry out a load compartment inspection. This includes the following points:
   1. Is the vehicle used ONLY for transporting foodstuffs?
   2. What were the three previous cargoes transported?
      The information provided by the driver is compared to a "positive list of previous cargoes" by our employees. Loading may take place only if the previous cargoes are documented on this list. This positive list is designed to prevent cross-contamination with foreign allergens.
   3. Has the driver read the hygiene guidelines of Saalemühle and the obligation to seal the load compartment and confirmed them in writing on the "load compartment inspection" form?
   4. What is the condition of the inside of all blower hoses?
   5. Does the vehicle have an intact blower sieve with a max. mesh width of 5 mm?
   6. Is the interior of the tank clean, dry and free of foreign odours?
   7. Has a current and completely filled-in cleaning certificate been provided?
   If all points are fulfilled, the driver receives approval for the loading.

Transport with our own vehicles:

For transport with our own vehicles, we use these vehicles to transport only grain and milled products.

As part of hygiene training courses held several times a year, our drivers are trained in sanitary handling of the product and vehicle so that they are capable of inspecting and evaluating the hygiene status of the vehicle before each load.

We have defined cleaning intervals for the vehicles. Here, we distinguish between a wet interior cleaning carried out by authorised companies and a dry manual cleaning carried out by our employees under strict sanitary conditions.

The cleaning rhythm for the silo tank interior depends directly on the turnover frequency, the time between each individual cleaning and the continuity of the transport activity.

The cleaning interval for wet interior cleaning differs between our vehicles depending on the interaction of the factors listed above. As part of extensive in-house studies to determine trends in the microbiological status of the vehicles between the cleaning measures, we have reviewed our defined cleaning intervals. Based on these microbiological results and comprehensive photo documentation of the status of the tank interior, we were able to prove that due to our cleaning rhythms, no microbial risk for our products is presented by our vehicles.
We will continue this validation of our specifications for cleaning the vehicle in order to also incorporate seasonal influences into our study.

Independently of the wet interior cleaning, the vehicles are regularly cleaned while dry between the wet cleaning cycles.

Back in 2010, we carried out a study about the hygiene of our silo vehicles. You can request the results of this study from us and read them at any time.