Food processing equipment must be state of the artWhen designing food processing equipment, it is not enough that the equipment is shiny for it to be safe. All food processing companies know this, and fortunately, there is a high level of control from the authorities to make sure that the quality is uncompromised.
One major risk of poor safety and hygiene is food poisoning. But whenever there is an incident of food poisoning, it can be hard to know for certain who is responsible. Is it the food company that produced the food, and is the food poisoning a result of their food production? Or is it the manufacturer of the food processing equipment that is responsible? Both can – in their own ways – claim no liability or responsibility for the food poisoning. The manufacturer can state that they are not liable for how their equipment is being operated by the food company. And in turn, the food company can blame the manufacturer for not having complied to all requirements when designing the equipment.
Even though food processing equipment may look clean visually, it may have no dirt on it or no organic matter, this does not mean that it is clean on a microbiological level. These machines should be able to last a lifetime, and the same goes for the cleanability. It is of utmost importance that the machines are designed in a way so that all surfaces can be cleaned and sanitized thoroughly and often without much trouble. Furthermore, it is crucial that no organic or food material is left in the machine. This entails a risk of bacterial growth.
Another critical consideration for designing food processing equipment is the interplay between the material that the equipment is made of, the product that is going to be processed, the environment where the equipment will be placed, and finally, the cleaning methods and detergent that will be used.
It is important when designing a machine for food processing that the surface is impervious to all the different kinds of materials, matters and conditions that it will be exposed to during its lifetime. When surface materials come into contact with other materials that do not match the surface materials, it might cause corrosion or absorption – in other words, damages to the surface. And even the smallest damages such as cracks can create huge consequences. Damages are places where micro-organisms such as bacteria can live and thrive.
It is crucial that the food is processed according to hygiene standards, and that the equipment is manufactured according to hygiene standards as well. It is important that every single part of the production line, every single machine and every single machinery part is hygienic. Even if you simply need to raise the processing machines slightly from the floor or level them with adjustable levelling feet, these parts need to live up to hygienic standards.