High-Pressure Cleaning Enhances Food Safety
Posted on: 5 October 2021
Cleaning your food production facility daily keeps the machinery and surfaces in great shape, but the methods used for this daily cleaning often aren't enough to remove all food residue. Over time, tiny pieces of food or liquid can build up and create a small but definite hazard. The potential consequences of not removing this old build-up are dire because they can result in illness and flatten your company's reputation.
Prevent Cross-Contamination
First, leaving any food residue on equipment is a cross-contamination risk. Even if you use that equipment only for that specific food, dried gunk can flake off as the equipment vibrates from running motors or conveyor belts. Those flakes can end up on other equipment that produces other items, creating a cross-contamination risk. Some food allergies are so severe that even a hint of the allergen will create a reaction, and any food can cause an allergy, not just the foods on those "most common allergies" lists. Sometimes high-pressure washing is the only thing that removes dried-up food residue, especially in hard-to-reach places like under belts and in gears.
Avoid Bacterial and Fungal Growth
Any food residue left after cleaning poses a bacterial and fungal risk. You might not see a small spot of tomato sauce, for example, but fungi might love it, and that affects the safety of the food you produce on that equipment or surface. Even when dry, the sauce can breed germs. It's not enough to just clean up mould when you find it, for example; you have to trace back what might have gotten near that mould, and that can lead to recalls and increased numbers of inspections from food safety authorities. Fortunately, high-pressure washing removes anything that could be forming a pathogen playground.
Reassure Your Customers
You could run a spotlessly clean operation, but the more you do to keep the facility sanitary, the better you'll look in customers' eyes. High-pressure washing is a normal part of keeping a food facility clean, but when you tell customers that you regularly blast surfaces to ensure no residue is left behind, that makes you look like a safe option for safe food.
Hiring a team of pressure washers to cover the facility in a short amount of time is the most efficient way to go about high-pressure cleaning. Your staff could certainly learn how to use the washing equipment, but then you'd have to deal with increased insurance and liability costs. A third-party company, however, will have its own insurance, and it can send out multiple workers to take care of the task of cleaning. By going with this option, your facility would be back at work quickly. To learn more, contact a company like Dry Ice WA.
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