Maintenance Technology October 2016 - 26

FOOD & BEVERAGE
systems
FEATURE

Clean is the
Top FoodPump Priority
Food-and-beverage pumps are subjected to
extensive and harsh cleaning procedures to
assure that they meet all health regulations.
MICHELLE SEGREST, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Wilden PS8 Saniﬂo FDA pumps (Wilden Pumps, Dover PSG,
Oakbrook Terrace, IL) equipped with the Pro-Flo SHIFT
air-distribution system and a full-stroke integral piston diaphragm provide maximum cleanability and energy savings
for cap irrigation at Rodney Strong Vineyards, Healdsburg,
CA. Photo courtesy Wilden.

26 |

RELIABLE PUMPING SUPPLEMENT

t can be as smooth and clear as water or wine, or as sticky and
thick as cookie dough or peanut butter. Regardless the viscosity, one thing remains a top priority when pumping processed
food and beverages-no corners can be cut when it comes to
keeping the systems clean and hygienically safe.
"Keeping this equipment sanitary is no joke in our business,"
said Mike Dillon, president of SEEPEX Inc., an Enon, OH, manufacturer of pumps that process milk and dairy products, wine and
beer, ﬁsh, baking goods, sugar, fruit and vegetables, poultry and
meat, and other food products. "I have seen manuals for one
company that are more than 200 pages of procedures just for
keeping the equipment clean. The guidelines are strict, and they
should be. On every changeover, and also during production,
we must ensure that this equipment is completely ﬂushed of any
bacteria or other residual material."
Until the 1950s, closed systems were completely disassembled and cleaned manually after every shift and changeover.
The advent of clean-in-place (CIP) procedures changed the industry. CIP is a method of cleaning the interior surfaces of pipes,
vessels, process equipment, and associated ﬁttings while the
equipment remains online. Industries that rely heavily on CIP are
those requiring high levels of hygiene, including dairy, beverage,
brewing, processed foods, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics.
CIP is faster, less labor intensive, and more repeatable than
COP (clean-out-of-place), which requires complete disassembly
of the production line to clean it properly. CIP also poses less of a
chemical-exposure risk to people. It started as a manual practice
involving a balance tank, centrifugal pump, and connection to
the system being cleaned. Since the 1950s, CIP has evolved to
include fully automated systems with programmable logic controllers, multiple balance tanks, sensors, valves, heat exchangers,
data acquisition, and specially designed spray-nozzle systems.
In addition to advanced CIP practices, this is an industry
that is heavily and strictly monitored by many governing bodies,
including, but not limited to:
n Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD
n European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG),
Frankfurt, Germany
n 3-A Sanitary Standards, McLean, VA
n United States Dairy Association (USDA), Washington
n National Sanitation Federation (NSF), Ann Arbor, MI
n County, state, and federal health inspectors
n U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington.
Most large food-and-beverage manufacturers must have representatives from one or more of these agencies on site any time
their equipment is running to perform scheduled and random
checks of the sanitary discrepancy of the equipment.
Cleaning of plant process equipment, pumps, valves, heat
exchangers, tanks, vessels, mixers, and other equipment with

OCTOBER 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology October 2016