Cleaning solutions to promote health, safety & hygiene in the food processing sector

Falling short of undertaking the appropriate cleaning measures in a food processing environment, as well as failing to tackle dust in hard to reach areas, will almost certainly affect product quality, while also running a high risk of cross contamination. In such cases, consumers could face potentially fatal consequences in the event of an extreme allergic reaction.

Therefore, it is essential that efficient and effective measures are put in place within the food processing sector to ensure workforces and the quality of products being made are protected from such hazards, while also adhering to the relevant and up-to-date health and safety regulations.

Comprehensive source extraction systems are one of the most effective ways of achieving safe and hygienic food production, as they are designed to ensure food processing areas are the cleanest they can be – virtually eliminating the potential hazard of dust inhalation and cross-contamination.

With hygiene requirements within the food industry being extremely stringent for the aforementioned reasons, a complete source extraction system can be fully integrated into the food production process, where it can be utilised for recycling or as a centralised vacuum cleaning system.

At Dustcontrol, to mark 50 years of business in 2022, we've upgraded our innovative range of Good For Food (GFF) process extraction and general cleaning equipment so that, when integrated with all our GFF components, it includes flap valves, suction brushes, flat nozzles, hose connectors, tubing system, joints, pre-separator, automatic shutter valves, and filter units. In addition, all the range's material is approved for food contact, and several have been designed to be installed in Zone 22, according to ATEX Directives 2014/34/EU.

The GFF brushes, in particular, have been developed specifically for the needs of the food industry. For one, they are antistatic and ESD certified, being both FDA compliant and the European equivalent. The brushes' colour coding – covering five handle colours and two interchangeable brush colours – also allows for different applications in the food processing area, or even for different days of the week depending on need. The use of colour-coded accessories is also beneficial in helping to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

Furthermore, the brushes material composition makes them detectable via metal detector as well as being autoclavable up to 121 degrees Celsius, allowing for high-pressure saturated steam cleaning.

By combining and integrating these components into the production line, food processing companies can yield higher quality products, whilst making savings on factory-wide cleaning costs.

Overall, with companies spending a considerable amount of time and money on cleaning, it pays to make sure they're doing it right. Streamlining cleaning processes and using the optimum equipment ensures that those in the food processing sector are utilising resources and saving valuable time and costs on creating a safer working environment.