BISCUIT PRODUCTION
1. Reducing accumulation of unwanted materials. 2. Improving visibility and access for cleaning. 3. Simplifying the removal and replacement of components and assemblies without the need for tools or technicians.
“Cutting the number of components and reducing accumulation of debris are also principal requirements of hygienic design, without compromising fundamental process performance parameters and attributes such as output and weight control,” continues Keith. “A key benefit of good hygienic design will be a reduction in the time needed to clean a line to the required standard, leading to lower costs and faster changeovers, which is important in light of the fact that, the main challenge cited by our biscuit manufacturer customers today is improving flexibility – switching from one product to another with minimum downtime.” The 2006 Machinery Directive EC 2006/42 requires that
‘machinery intended for use with foodstuffs is designed and constructed in such a way as to avoid any risk of infection, sickness or contagion’. All surfaces in contact with foodstuffs must be smooth and have neither ridges nor crevices which could harbour organic materials. And they must be easy to clean and disinfect, where necessary, after the removal of any easily dismantled parts.
Choosing equipment for your baking line that adheres to the Machinery Directive will also ensure that it is quicker and less expensive to clean between batches and will allow the volumes, concentration and temperature of the cleaning agents – and therefore, also, the volume and concentration of the resultant effluent – to be minimised. So, hygienically designed equipment really can help reduce production costs. Remember that hygiene is an essential consideration and so specifying equipment that has been designed with hygiene in mind will always pay dividends.
Cutting cleaning times
Belt cleaning is a time consuming and costly process, and usually requires the complete shutdown not only of the line in question, but also of nearby ovens. Marko Leber, Global Product Manager at IPCO, argues that, with the introduction of new cleaning technologies, this may soon become a thing of the past.
Cleaning is probably the most important maintenance
“Many ovens use rotating brushes to maintain a clean belt during production but a gradual build-up of deposits is still likely to occur”
task there is in relation to bake oven belts. A build-up of carbon deposits on the baking side of the belt can lead to less than perfect products and evidence also suggests that the formation of acrylamide may have a negative impact on human health.
Many ovens use rotating brushes to maintain a clean belt during production but a gradual build-up of deposits is still likely to occur and will eventually need to be treated. “A range of factors – including belt type, end product,
oven type and personal preference – will determine the most effective approach to the removal of carbon deposits and will usually involve the application of chemicals, dry ice, baking release agent or detergents along with a great deal of manual input,” explains Marko. “Thorough belt cleaning will require a halt in production, whichever treatment is preferred, and in most cases not only to the belt being treated but to nearby lines too. This makes cleaning a costly process, one in which time really is money.”
IPCO has been working on a solution to this challenge
in the form of laser technology. It has partnered with laser specialists and using experience gained in its own
18 Kennedy’s Bakery Production October/November 2022
bakeryproduction.co.uk
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