Guidelines for the hygienic design, selection and
use of dry cleaning equipment

Overview

Assess the options for cleaning dry food production areas to ensure that the approaches chosen are both practicable and effective in ensuring good hygienic practice

Good hygiene is essential in preventing end-product contamination. It covers everything from good hygienic design of food production areas and processing equipment to understanding the benefits and limitations of specific hygienic practices before, during and after food production. Dry goods areas, in which the opportunity to use standard wet cleaning methods is constrained, can pose special problems.

This guide has therefore been produced to help both food companies and equipment manufacturers with this. It will help food industry personnel to select the most appropriate equipment for dry cleaning and to use it in the most effective way. It will also help cleaning equipment manufacturers with relevant aspects of good hygienic design and an appreciation of the constraints faced by food companies working with dry goods.

Written with the close involvement of both food companies and cleaning equipment manufacturers, it takes a practical stance on issues ranging from materials of construction, joints and surface finish, through wipes, scrapers, brushes and vacuum systems, to colour coding.

Contents

Basic hygienic design concepts

• Introduction
• Hazard/risk analysis
• Materials of construction
• Surface finish
• Joints
• Fasteners
• Drainage
• Internal angles and corners
• Dead spaces
• Wheels, bearings and shaft entry points
• Instrumentation
• Panels, covers and doors
• Control devices
• Verification of hygienic design
• Cleaning and maintenance

Use and selection of cleaning equipment

• Equipment colour coding
• Wipes
• Scrapers
• Brushes
• Squeegees
• Compressed air
• Vacuum cleaners
• Ring main (fixed) vacuum cleaners

References

Softcover - 41 pages - colour