Creating a successful Food Safety Plan for your plant

In the food, dairy and beverage industry, the importance of maintaining a hygienic processing environment is key to ensure product quality. Spills and splatters during processing can cause food processing equipment to get dirty and create havoc in a production environment. Liezl Siebrits, sales manager at SMC Corporation shares how to ensure a safe and hygienic food production environment.

The Food Safety Modernization Act requires a proactive approach to controlling contamination hazards before they become an issue. All food processing plants need a Food Safety Plan in place to sanitise food equipment and remove residue that can harbour dangerous bacteria. As part of the Food Safety Plan Clean-in-place (CIP) cleaning occurs in process piping, tanks, heat exchangers and other equipment. All walls and floors in process areas also need to be washed down. Harsh chemicals like chlorine (bleach), caustic soda concentration and, more recently, peracetic acid (PAA, a combination of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid) are commonly used. Temperatures 60°C – 85°C and high-pressure sprays also comes into play with these procedures.

Well-designed production equipment hygienically designed and built to the EHEDG (European) or 3A (American) specifications for easy cleaning, with an absolute minimum of crevices and smooth surfaces where bacteria can hide, make the washdown process go smoothly.

Materials are very important. Stainless steel has a far smoother finish and cleaning agents won’t oxidise it like aluminium. Fluororubber or FKM seals can also offer higher resistance to these environments. The IP ratings of electrical components will specify which switches or sensors have a water resistance. IP 67 rated components are waterproof, but an IP69K rating indicates the component can handle high-pressure and high-temperature sprays.To ensure a durable machine make sure you select components that are rated to withstand the temperature and chemicals that forms part of your Food Safety Plan.

SMC Pneumatics offers more than 12 000 components and 700 000 varieties of this. With this in mind, it is important to SMC Pneumatics that they first have the conversation with their client to better understand their needs. Their locally stocked FDA approved tubing offers higher chemical resistance making this perfect for these environments. The CG5 range of stainless steel cylinders offers heat resistant options up to 150°C, which is perfect for processing areas. The CG5 range also offers a scraper seal to keep food splatter from entering from the shaft. Even their smooth CG1 cylinders are great for food packaging areas with no crevasses for contamination. They also offer heat resistant, cold resistant or heavy-duty scraper options with a few made-to-order options.

All food processing plants need a Food Safety Plan in place to sanitise food equipment.

On all cylinders, they have an easy option of a stainless steel shaft, offering the customer the option of specifying the components in accordance to the areas of operation. A firm favourite for the food processing industry is the JSX stainless steel 2port solenoid valve with improved environmental resistance due to the stainless-steel coil cover, giving it aIP67 rating.

SMC want to partner with you to helpyou implement a successful Food SafetyPlan, so that you can ensure that you areproducing your highest quality products. •

SMC Corporation South Africa (Pty) Ltd – www.smcza.co.za