46 n CONVEYORS AND MATERIALS- HANDLING April 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com Three ways to improve conveyor sanitation in food plants Conveyor belts in food-processing plants are critical areas for cleaning because they are in direct contact with food products. The biggest challenge is cross-contamination, where food products become contaminated by foreign bodies. This can be either in the form of physical contamination or microbiological contamination, caused by build-ups of biofilms on the line. Biofilms typically consist of water, lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, and microorganisms. They are particularly challenging to remove. Essentially, the biofilm structures create bacterial colonies and singlecell groups that adhere to surfaces. They are preserved by a protective dome of polysaccharide meshing, making them difficult to remove and clean. Therefore, hygienic designs that prevent biofilm build-up from occurring in the first place are crucial for ensuring hygiene in food-processing plants. One critical area for modular belts is the hinges which, if not cleaned properly, can allow debris to accumulate and biofilms to grow. Hygienic belt designs must therefore limit the surface area of the hinges and provide easy access to the belt from all sides, allowing workers to inspect, clean and validate belts quickly and effectively. Belts must also facilitate the flow of water and cleaning agents to hidden parts and to the rods that connect the belts, so they cannot become breeding grounds for bacteria. One way of improving the hygiene of foodprocessing conveyors is to use modern cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems such as spraycleaning bars fitted to conveyor frames. CIP systems improve cleanability and reduce the time needed for cleaning, thus boosting productivity. However, most food conveyor systems are not fitted with CIP systems and it is often too complicated to retrofit them. This perception is changing thanks to new plug-and-play hygienic CIP systems that can be installed easily on any conveyor. They allow CIP to be retrofitted to any system without costly, disruptive engineering work, improving cleanability and reducing the cleaning window, thus improving productivity. Another way to improve hygiene in food processing is to install components that allow conveyor belts to be removed from their frames without needing to use tools. Such systems facilitate cleaning of conveyor frames without requiring specialist engineers, dramatically cutting the time required for cleaning and improving productivity. A third approach is to use plastic modular belting systems designed specifically to improve cleaning efficiency and food safety. These belts – such as Habasit’s Super HyClean – have completely flat belt surfaces, including on the running side where the hinge and rod area are minimised. The hinges are placed on the outer sides of the belt, resulting in a flat bottom surface, reducing areas where there is a risk of debris collecting and biofilm accumulating. Furthermore, dynamic open hinges allow water flows to reach the hinges and the rods, facilitating debris removal. Independent testing and industrial trials of these belts in hygienically demanding applications have found that cleaning times and water usage can both be more than halved because the belts trap less debris. Further tests using UV-tracers have found that, after only five rinsing cycles, there is up to 4.1 times less soil residue on these belts than other hygienic plastic modular belts. Furthermore, microbiological swab tests and CFU testing have shown that the belts develop 20 times fewer bacterial colonies than other modular hygienic belts. n Food-processing plants must balance rigorous hygiene requirements against the need to improve productivity. Enrico Visconti, head of the food industry business at the hygienic conveyor belt manufacturer Habasit, offers advice on how to improve conveyor belt sanitation in such applications. Hygienic cleaning-in-place systems can reduce the time needed for cleaning, thus boosting productivity Components such as Habasit’s Saniclip allow belts to be removed from conveyor frames without using tools
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