Cleaning vs. Sanitizing for Food and Beverage Processors

Cleaning within the food and beverage industry is seen as no easy task. When dealing with the safety of the public at large, no shortcuts can be taken. Within food processing and production, disinfection is critical step to guarantee food safety. Understanding soiling challenges, why you should clean, and how cleaners like detergents and disinfectants work are critical to keeping to a safe and hygienic environment.

So, the question remains: Why should you clean and sanitize as often as possible?

• The prevention of transferred ingredient

• • If products have been processed on the same machine, the cross-contamination of chemicals or ingredients is a real possibility, leading to recalls and other legal ramifications

• To prevent microbial contamination

• • Contamination can often lead to many problems for your business such as a reduction in quality, harmful or life-threatening diseases, and infection

• To improve facility efficiency

• • Contaminates are known to reduce equipment efficiency and production time

• To boost facility safety

• • Facilities that are not clean are shown to have more potential safety risks like slips/falls because of waste on the floors

• To improve your bottom line

• • Reducing the waste can significantly extend the life of your equipment and machines
• To limit legal ramifications
  • The FDA and OSHA have legal requirements for food processors to clean surfaces and equipment to a specific standard

Cleaning

Cleaning and sanitization are often seen as the same thing, but they should be considered two distinct steps in the cleaning process. Cleaning can be defined as the removal of residues and soil from surfaces, sanitization happens next with the removal of any harmful residues or bacteria.

Due to the cleaning process, detergents are used to remove food waste and bacteria from any surface. The soil is attached to the surface of the equipment, floors, or walls. The detergent’s main goal is to bring soils from surfaces, allowing it to be rinsed off. The most common soils are carbohydrates like cellulose, starches, and sugars. These are the simplest to remove, while proteins like milk, meat, and eggs are the most difficult.

Sanitization
Sanitize is defined as the process of killing microorganism, so their number is reduced down to a nonharmful level or to the specified standard. After cleaning, surfaces no longer have soil on them, but microorganisms will remain. The method that each disinfectant kills microorganisms is called “mode of action” and varies with the active ingredient. When choosing a disinfectant, a number of considerations should be made.

• Application
• Temperature needed
• Water hardness
• Required concentration
• Toxicity
• Leftover residue

It is no secret that the food and beverage processing industry is under a great deal of pressure to deliver products that are more fresh, more easily produced, and packaged to prep and eat, with fewer preservatives. At the same time, they need to travel further, last longer, and remain safe. With the right partner at your side, you should be assured that your products are safe for consumers.

FlexPAC’s innovative solutions like the egg producer who cut their losses by 2%, saving 4,320 eggs per hour, can drastically help to save your business time, money, and prevent safety issues.

Growing at a rate of 2.3% per year, the industrial and institutional chemicals industry is set to hit $11.7 billion by the year 2020. To meet this expanding need, FlexPAC is adding to its knowledge and services by hiring Howard Goede. Howard comes to FlexPAC with over 30 years of manufacturing and chemicals exposure. From starting as a Service Technician in 1985 with DuBois Chemicals to working with other companies in sales, Howard has extensive experience in laundry and ware washing chemicals. At Prism, an S.C. Johnson Company, helped build a chemical program from the ground up that turned into a $6 million opportunity.

Howard came to FlexPAC to help build a similar program that focuses on the healthcare, food processing, and education industries. The program will be all-encompassing, covering chemicals, servicing what FlexPAC sells, and cleaning and sanitation. With a focus on those three industries, FlexPAC hopes to help companies improve their business through better chemistry, process improvements, equipment, and reduce their monthly costs.