Case Study: How Harrigan Helps a Midwest Cheese Plant Stay Audit-Ready

At a glance: A large Midwest cheese manufacturer was struggling with persistent mineral and rust buildup in a make room, putting audit swab results at risk. For more than five years now, Harrigan Sanitation Solutions has served as the plant’s trusted sanitation partner, helping maintain pristine conditions and supporting successful audit outcomes.

The Challenge

In one of the facility’s make rooms, overhead surfaces had developed heavy rust and calcium buildup—a stubborn but common problem in a high-moisture cheese production environment. During audit preparation, environmental swab tests in certain rooms and areas were coming back at failing levels.

The stakes were high:

• Audit risk. A failed audit could stall production, or halt it entirely.
• Production comes first. The plant’s sanitation team is also its production team. With production always taking the first seat, deep remediation work kept getting pushed off.
• Specialized chemical handling. Removing heavy mineral buildup requires acid-based descaling agents that the in-house team wasn’t fully trained to handle, and the plant didn’t want to put its own people at risk.

The Solution

The plant brought in Harrigan Sanitation Solutions. Working alongside the facility’s existing staff rather than replacing them, the Harrigan crew executed a proven deep-clean process:

•  Initial rinse of all affected overhead surfaces
• Application of an acid-based descaling foam (Foam Shine)
•  A 10–15 minute dwell time to break down mineral deposits
• Mechanical scrubbing matched to each surface—using hard- and soft-bristle brushes and scrub pads—to remove debris
•  Final rinse and full sanitizing of the area

Because Harrigan’s crews are trained and experienced in handling these chemicals, the plant’s own employees could stay focused on production.

The Result

• Passing swabs, passing audits. Areas that had been failing environmental swabs were restored to healthy, audit-passing condition.
• A 5+ year partnership. What began as audit-prep deep cleans has become a relationship spanning more than five years, with Harrigan on site at least twice a year.
•  Production protected. The plant’s team never has to choose between production and sanitation. Harrigan provides peace of mind as the trusted partner to call when their back is against the wall.
• There when it counts. The relationship has extended beyond audits: after a major fire in the facility’s back house, Harrigan performed a top-to-bottom environmental clean—ceilings, walls, floors, and salvageable equipment—to get the area back in service.

Already Have a Sanitation Team? Perfect.

Just like in this example, Harrigan doesn’t always replace in-house sanitation teams. Often, we work alongside existing crews to handle specialized, high-stakes projects such as heavy buildup remediation, audit preparation, and disaster recovery following fires or flooding. Your team stays focused on production while our crews help keep your facility audit-ready. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to our team today.