Everyone knows that good equipment cleaning requires 4 basic elements: temperature, chemicals, mechanical action and time. But how do you choose the right technology?
Today, foam cleaning technology is the best solution for maintaining hygiene in food production. It allows soiling to be completely removed from treated surfaces. The removal of microorganisms also plays an important role. Based on many years of experience in food production, we have opted for medium-pressure foam cleaning systems (15-30 bar) over low-pressure (1-7 bar) and high-pressure (over 60 bar) systems, and here is why.
- Medium-pressure cleaning does not spray aerosols or scatter product residues around the work area. High-pressure systems create a suspension of aerosols containing bacteria. At first glance everything looks clean, but bacteria settle out of the air and recontaminate clean surfaces.
- Time savings and the shortest cleaning time with the most effective result. In practice, meat processing plants save about 4 hours a day compared with cleaning using a foam generator. This allows the investment in cleaning equipment to pay off quickly.
- Water savings: from 10 to 40 %, based on our experience. The system makes it possible to control detergent consumption. Detergent consumption rates can be included in the company's hygiene plan, as the system prevents accidental overconsumption of detergents. The concentration of the cleaning solution is always stable. The human factor is eliminated.
- Pressure sufficient for the load, i.e. the energy at the end of the water jet, helps remove even heavily ingrained dirt. Low-pressure systems cannot do this, because their jet is short and the hose length is limited to 10-15 metres, which makes cleaning difficult in hard-to-reach or remote places, and the jet energy may not be enough to remove product residues.
- The equipment does not damage electrical systems and electronics and does not “break through” electrical cabinets and control panels.
- Improved transfer of jet temperature thanks to a reduced spray angle, unlike with high-pressure piston pump systems. The higher the temperature, the more effective the cleaning.
- The lowest upkeep and maintenance costs. Water-lubricated centrifugal pumps last much longer than oil-lubricated piston pumps and do not require complex repairs.
- Foaming produced by compressed air supply ensures constant dosage and long contact time on any surfaces and materials, which enhances the effect of the detergent.
- Foaming in low- and high-pressure systems is significantly lower. A single mechanism (mode selector) performs all cleaning operations – pre-rinse, application of foam detergent, post-rinse, disinfection and final rinse. This reduces cleaning time and the likelihood of operator error.
- The system allows the user of each cleaning station to individually select the detergent and disinfectant and their dosage best suited to the specific area.
- Reduced risk of staff contact with concentrated detergents. Chemicals are easily connected to the equipment and are not decanted or knocked over.
Medium-pressure systems can be used in any food industry enterprise, but they are most effective where there is a large volume of difficult external cleaning, i.e. in meat and fish processing plants.
Many people ask: “Why do I need this? It is expensive.”
It is needed to maintain good hygiene at the plant. Manual cleaning simply cannot deliver this quality. The cost of equipment for one medium-sized meat processing plant is 15,000 — 40,000 euros. One of our customers was reluctant to install the system for a long time, but after calculating how much product he would make in the freed-up 4 hours a day, it turned out that the payback period would be just six months. After that, he modernised the entire plant and has continued to work with us for 15 years.
Klinin not only manufactures detergents and disinfectants but has also been installing such systems for more than 17 years and works with more than 60 regular customers. We are distributors for two Danish companies that are global market leaders in this equipment.
One of our strengths is our service and our highly qualified engineers, who are trained at the manufacturers' plants at least once a year. We take care of all selection, servicing and repair work, because after the purchase of a system we are interested in mutually beneficial cooperation. We can offer both a full support programme and training for your specialists in repair and maintenance.
For an initial equipment selection, you only need to answer a few questions in a questionnaire, and within 2 days you can have a ready-made project with a cost estimate.
Igor Beryozko
Technical Director
Klinin LLC
8 (800) 500-94-49 (toll-free within Russia)
The article was published in the journal “Russian Food Market” No. 1/2020: How to keep your plant clean if you produce meat or fish products?