In the last five years, there have been ten foodborne outbreaks associated with low-moisture foods including nuts, spices, pet food, cookie dough, and extruded snack foods. The causative agents of these outbreaks include Salmonella and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and were linked to over 1,600 cases of foodborne illness and nine deaths.  As pathogens are able to persist in low water activity products and processing environments it is imperative to employ mitigation strategies to minimize pathogen occurrence.  Low water activity (a_w) processing environments present different food safety challenges than those found in higher a_w processing environments.  In the case of low a_w processing, introduction of water can lead to an increased problem, allowing microorganisms to proliferate.  Food processing equipment and nonfood-contact surfaces must be cleaned prior to sanitation.  This creates a dilemma for manufacturers of low a_w products, as cleaning techniques typically utilized in the food industry involve the use of hot water and detergent.  Dry cleaning techniques are dependent on the level of clean desired and the rationale behind performing the cleaning procedure.  Dry sanitation techniques can then be used to provide targeted microbial inactivation and specify ‘lot’ separation.  Special care must be taken to ensure the hygienic design of new processing equipment.  In the case of older processing equipment, retrofitting may be employed to aid in cleanability.  To ensure a pathogen-free processing environment, validation and verification procedures must be developed and implemented.

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