User’s Manual

Food Assessment Tool (FAT 1.0)

Vinay Kumar V NerellaAkhil Kadiyala

Dr. Ashok Kumar University of Toledo

Chapter 1

How to Begin

1.1. System Requirements:

To run FAT 1.0 Tool Spreadsheet, you need the following:

A PC with an Intel Pentium Processor (or 100 % compatible)

32 MB RAM or higher recommended

Hard disk (minimum 10MB space to start with)

Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT, Vista

A mouse or compatible pointing device

A VGA monitor (15 inch VGA or higher recommended)

An Internet connection

A suitable browser (Internet Explorer 5.0 recommended)\

MS Excel

1.2. Installing FAT 1.0 tool:

Connect to the Internet and open the browser window

Type in the URL: http://p2tools.utoledo.edu/

Click on the icon: Food Assessment Tool 1.0

Download the Excel file (.xls) named Food Assessment Tool 1.0

Soon, an Excel spreadsheet will open

Click on the save icon of the Excel file

The following window appears:

Figure 1

Save the tool onto your desktop. The circled area in the figure above should show

“Desktop” before the “save” button on the bottom right-hand corner is clicked.

Chapter 2

Working with the Tool

This chapter gives you the instructions on using the tool. We hope this helps to

clear any doubts that you might have at the time of running the tool.

The tool is an Excel document, which means there are two ways to open the tool:

First, Open MS Excel and select the Open option from the File option as shown below:

Figure 2

This will open a window, wherein you must browse to the folder where you have

saved the tool.

Figure 3

The second method is to open the tool using Windows Explorer. Navigate

through the Explorer to the folder where you have saved the tool.

The Spreadsheet

The FAT 1.0 is basically a questionnaire which consists of questions divided into

different sections depending on the category under which a question falls. There are 16

different sections in the tool namely

1. Packaging Waste

2. Composting

3. Water Use

4. Waste Management

5. Pest Control

6. Spill Prevention

7. Preventive Maintenance

8. Clean up Procedures

9. Storage and Transportation

10. Food Banks

11. Food Contamination

12. Air Quality Regulations

13. Air Pollution Control

14. Pollution Prevention Techniques

15. Energy Use

16. Storm Water

There is another section named “Suggestions” that helps the food processing facilities in

understanding ways to prevent pollution and utilize the energy efficiently.

Various inputs required for these sections are discussed below:

1. Packaging Waste

a) Types of Packaging

b) Recycling and Reusing

c) Employee Training

Screenshot of the worksheet showing packaging waste

2. Composting

a) On-site Composting

b) Rendering Services

c) Land Spreading Food Wastes

Screenshot of the worksheet showing composting

3. Water Use

a) Public/private water supply

b) Drinking water standards

c) On-site sewage system

d) Water meters

Screenshot of the worksheet showing Water Use

4. Waste Management

a) Liquid industrial waste

b) Hazardous waste

c) Universal waste

Screenshot of the worksheet showing waste management

5. Pest Control

a) Pesticide certification

b) Monthly surveys

c) Integrated pest management (IPM) plan

Screenshot of the worksheet showing pest control

6. Spill Prevention

a) Storage and transfer areas

b) Spill prevention control and counter measure (SPCC)

c) Certification

d) Review

Screenshot of the worksheet showing spill prevention

7. Preventive Maintenance

a) Improper or malfunctioning of equipment

b) Checking and servicing

c) Upgrading the systems

d) Repairs

Screenshot of the worksheet preventive maintenance

8. Clean-up Procedures

a) Spillage from over filling

b) High pressure sprays

c) Multiple purpose cleaner

Screenshot of the worksheet showing clean-up procedures

9. Storage and Transportation

a) Ventilation

b) Renewable fuels

c) Monthly inspections

d) Regulatory requirements

e) Storage area

Screenshot of the worksheet showing storage and transportation

10. Food banks

a) Local health authorities

b) Potentially hazardous food

Screenshot of the worksheet showing food banks

11. Food Contamination

a) Health problems

b) Cleanliness

Screenshot of the worksheet showing food contamination

12. Air Quality Regulations

a) Air pollution

b) New source performance standard (NSPS)

Screenshot of the worksheet showing air quality regulations

13. Air Pollution Control

a) Permit exemptions

b) Asbestos notification

c) Open burning

Screenshot of the worksheet showing air pollution control

14. Pollution Prevention (P2) Techniques

a) Environmental management system (EMS) standard

b) Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

c) Alternative approaches

Screenshot of the worksheet showing pollution prevention techniques

15. Energy Use

a) Energy efficient approaches

b) Energy audit

Screenshot of the worksheet showing energy use

16. Storm Water

a) Storm water pollution

Screenshot of the worksheet showing storm water

Score sheet

FAT 1.0 tool gives sectional score and each section has a range of scores that indicates

the category under which the section falls. The scoring method is explained below:

CategorySectional Percentage

Required

Overall Score (Tool)

Required

Excellent 80% and above 144-180

Good 70-79% 126-143

Poor 60-69% 108-125

Very Poor < 60% < 108

The sectional score helps in zeroing into the section which needs more attention to

improve the food processing activities energy efficiently. On answering the questions the

tool automatically gives the category under which each section falls and also shows

which section of the facility needs to follow best management practices to reduce the

pollution and improve energy efficiency.

Screenshot of the worksheet showing score sheet

Suggestions sheet

The last sheet of the tool is allotted for suggestions. This sheet gives best management

practices for each of the above mentioned sections that reduce the pollution and the

harmful effects due to the individual activities in different sections of a facility.

Screenshot of the worksheet showing suggestions