It’s all in the balance
Christeyns Food Hygiene discusses the key issues around cleaning in the food and beverage industry and the importance of getting it right.
Cleaning and disinfecting in the food industry is a crucial part of the production cycle as a whole, and can have devastating consequences if not carried out properly. It forms the basis of being able to deliver and guarantee a safe end product. However, it is not an easy task.
In order to be able to carry out an effective and thorough clean, the first step is understanding the various soiling or residue challenges that need to be addressed. These could be organic or inorganic in nature.
At Christeyns Food Hygiene this is an essential starting point with any customer. In terms of finding the right cleaning solution, one size does not fit all. It is very much a case of tailoring solutions to meet each individual case.
Good customer research is essential and a visit to the site is always the best option. Key information to gather would be details on how the equipment is cleaned, (automatically or by hand), what facilities are available, are staff well trained or does an external professional team carry out the clean?
Other things to note are the type of materials present – all stainless and plastic or are there soft metals present which have to be protected? The hardness of the water also makes a difference to the choice of a suitable alkaline detergent and it is important to ascertain the procedure for the spent detergent and soiling.
It is worth noting that cleaning and disinfecting are two separate things. Effective cleaning is the complete removal of soils and residues from surfaces, leaving them visibly clean so that a second stage, that of disinfection, will be effective. Surfaces may be free from soil but microorganisms remain. Using validated disinfectants on surfaces and following the instructions and contact times, reduces microorganisms to levels acceptable for food production so they will not be a threat to health.
The modern cleaning regime is therefore: rinse away debris, clean using detergents, rinse again and then disinfect the ‘clean’ surface using a specialised, approved disinfectant.
Detergents are used to remove soil, a mixture of food waste and bacteria, from the surface of processing equipment, floors or walls. The action of the detergent solution is to suspend this soil and bacteria mixture away from the surface and allow for it to be rinsed off to the drain.
As there are many types of soil, the cleaning procedure and detergent is different for each one. The most common soils – carbohydrates, like sugar, starch and cellulose – are the easiest to remove. Proteins, meat, milk and eggs are probably the most difficult because changes in heat and pH alter the structure of the protein and bind it to other molecules, increasing their tenacity and often leaving them insoluble.
Fatty soils are not water-soluble and pose a greater challenge than carbohydrates. It’s necessary to use alkaline
58 | CLEANING CHEMICALS & EQUIPMENT
cleaners in this instance with high temperatures that are above the melting point. Mineral salts, the inorganic food soil, lead to scale formation on equipment. Acidic cleaners are required to efficiently remove these.
For the disinfectant stage, it is important to also look at the toxicity of the disinfectant, leftover residues and the impact of water hardness. Again, temperature is important because some disinfectants may not be as effective in cold environments.
There are four variables within the cleaning process that can impact on soil removal: detergent/concentration, time, temperature, and physical action. The chemicals required to clean and disinfect depend very much on the type of food or beverage industry, be that dairy, meat or brewing and the production environment.
Mike Taylor, Senior Chemist and Regulatory Manager at Christeyns Food Hygiene, explained: “There are a few golden rules to abide by. For example, in brewing Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs), cationic surfactants are
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