With the development of the economy and the improvement of living standards, food safety issues have increasingly attracted the attention of consumers. From farm to table, every link of processing and production is related to food safety. In a food factory, where production runs efficiently and food safety needs to be ensured at the same time, cleaning and disinfection have naturally become the focus of the factory’s attention. The promulgation of the new “Food Safety Law” has laid a solid foundation for the healthy development of the industry, and at the same time clarified that ensuring food safety is as important as food quality.
Cleaning and disinfection are powerful measures to control microorganisms in factory production. In the process of food processing and production, it provides favorable conditions for the growth of microorganisms, including nutrients, moisture, and a suitable temperature loop. After the visible dirt is completely removed by cleaning, and then the equipment is disinfected, the growth of microorganisms can be effectively controlled, thereby ensuring food safety.
Cleaning and Disinfection of Food Factories
1. Types and Composition of Dirt Commonly Found in Food Factories
In food factories, the common types of dirt can be roughly divided into two categories: organic dirt and inorganic dirt. Common organic dirt is mainly the hard-to-remove carbohydrate formed on the surface of the equipment after the production and processing of fat, protein, sugar, starch, flavor, etc. in food. Inorganic dirt is deposited on the surface of equipment by depositing some mineral salts in food or production water, or after production and processing, and reacting with other compounds.
In actual production, organic fouling and inorganic fouling do not exist alone or simply combined. Especially on the surface of some heating equipment, the structure of the dirt is very complicated. It is often that the organic dirt contains inorganic dirt, and the inorganic dirt is covered with organic dirt and penetrates each other, which brings challenges to the cleaning and disinfection of the equipment.
2. Commonly used detergent and disinfectant ingredients
For different types of dirt, different chemical components are also involved in the selection of cleaning agents. For organic dirt, a series of alkaline cleaning agents such as sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, sodium carbonate and potassium hydroxide are commonly used. For inorganic dirt, nitric acid, phosphoric acid and other inorganic acids are mainly used, and organic acids such as citric acid can also be used to clean certain special materials. When encountering cleaning problems, you cannot simply increase the concentration of chemicals to enhance cleaning. Experiments have shown that higher concentrations do not mean better cleaning results. In actual applications, a suitable cleaning plan should be customized according to the analysis of the components of the dirt.
3. Disinfect
The cleaning agent cleans the visible dirt, and the disinfectant targets the “dirt”-microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye. After each cleaning, before the next production, to ensure the cleanliness of the inside of the pipeline, it must be disinfected. But effective disinfection requires thorough cleaning as a prerequisite.
Traditional thermal disinfection uses hot water to circulate in the pipeline for at least 30 minutes to achieve a certain disinfection effect. However, with the deepening of research and the demand for factory capacity, it is found that thermal disinfection will not only cause a great impact on the equipment, but also affect the service life of the equipment or spare parts. At the same time, the disinfection time is too long, which affects the production efficiency, and the disinfection effect is difficult to further improve. Commonly used chemical disinfectants include chlorine, peroxy acids, and quaternary ammonium salts. Among them, pipeline disinfectants in food factories are mainly peroxy acids compound disinfectants. It has a broad-spectrum sterilization effect and a short sterilization time. At lower temperatures, using a lower concentration of effective peracid can kill most microorganisms by more than 5-6 logs, and it has good compatibility with equipment.
Food Safety
1. Food Detergents and Disinfectants
In the new version of the Food Safety Law, many places clearly put forward the definition of food detergents and disinfectants, as well as related laws and regulations. Food detergents and disinfectants: refer to substances directly used to wash or disinfect food, tableware, tools, equipment, or food packaging materials and containers that directly contact food. Food packaging materials, containers, detergents, disinfectants, and tools and equipment used in food production and operation (hereinafter referred to as food-related products) must obtain corresponding production and operation licenses. Food safety standards include limited regulations for pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, pollutants, and other substances harmful to human health in food-related products; detergents and disinfectants required to be used should be safe and harmless to humans.
2. Common Food Safety Issues
Common food safety problems are mainly divided into three categories: industrial pollution and water pollution at the top of the food chain, human pollution, and microbial pollution. Most western countries have gone through this kind of food safety development process, and currently, they are mainly focused on food safety problems caused by microorganisms.
In China, there have been many familiar food safety incidents in the past ten years. Malachite green, Sudanese red duck eggs, melamine milk powder, waste oil, clenbuterol, and poisoned ginger are all human factors. The loss of consumer confidence is the most fatal blow to this market and industry. However, with the development of the industry and the improvement of the supervision of relevant national departments, the system of social co-production of food safety has become increasingly complete, and the foothold of food safety will still be the control of microorganisms. How to choose and correctly use an efficient, safe, and sustainable cleaning and disinfection program will be an eternal topic of food safety.
Potential Food Safety Issues in Cleaning and Disinfection
1. Safe Selection of Cleaning Agents and Disinfectants
When choosing cleaning agents and disinfectants for food factories, it is the most basic condition to choose according to the guidelines of the Food Safety Law. However, in actual operation, the cleaning and disinfection of the factory are affected by many complicated factors, such as the condition of the factory’s equipment, sewage treatment requirements, etc. It requires a professional technical team to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the factory before customizing a suitable cleaning plan.
2. Chemical Residues
This is a question that is often raised in actual production. Whether the cleaning agent or disinfectant is left in the pipeline and mixed into the product, which will affect the quality of the product. In essence, this is closely related to the selection of safe cleaning agents and disinfectants mentioned above. If there are no toxic or harmful substances in the selected cleaning agent and disinfectant, the chemical residues are safe within a reasonable range. Usually, the factory will use the conductivity method to detect whether the cleaning agent is rinsed out, which is also the more convenient method at present.
3. The Impact of Material Compatibility
Safe cleaning agents and disinfectants are not only safe for the human body and the environment but also safe for the equipment. The vast majority of food factory equipment is made of stainless steel. Because of this, we have neglected the safety of the equipment. The safety concern for stainless steel equipment is on some elbows, especially near the welds. The treatment of the weld seam is very important. Improper treatment will destroy the dense oxide layer on the surface of the stainless steel, thereby bringing safety hazards to the entire equipment.
In addition to equipment made of stainless steel and other metal materials, some non-metallic equipment and spare parts, such as a series of polymer materials such as rubber gaskets and silica gel, should attract more attention. The resistance of these substances to chemicals and thermal shocks is very limited. For spare parts or cleaning objects of this type of material, the factory should formulate a replacement cycle to eliminate potential safety hazards.
