Baking & Snack - February 2020 - 124

TRAYS & BASKETS

Sanitation of transport assets is critical because they
exit the bakery, a controlled environment, and go out
into the world, which is an uncontrolled one. On the
road and in supermarkets or QSRs, a tray can pick up
pathogen strains like E. coli and bring them back into
the bakery. "That's a risk that most of our customers cannot bear anymore," said Patrice Painchaud, vice-president, sales and marketing, Rexfab.
To minimize the risk, trays are being redesigned for
easier cleaning, and tray handling systems are making
way for the latest washers and dryers that sanitize everything properly.

Designed for strength and sanitation

Efficient, automated
washing systems can
help bakeries not only
get trays and baskets
clean faster but also
reduce water usage.
Douglas Machines Corp.

A tray or basket may seem like a straightforward thing,
but when approaching these assets with sanitation in
mind, things can get interesting. When creating a tray
or basket, suppliers must balance the asset's function as
well as features that will make it easier to use, whether
that's easy cleaning or ergonomically friendly.
"In a commercial bakery, first you're trying to make
sure you protect a product that can be so delicate,"
Mr. Painchaud explained. "You have to keep it light because that's a cost implication. You also want to design it
so it doesn't waste space during transportation or stor-

age. Now that they are all being washed, that's the next
piece of tray design."
When creating trays that are easier to clean, the features should mimic that of sanitary design for equipment by eliminating places where dirt, bacteria and wa-

SANITATION IS AT THE
FOREFRONT OF FOOD
MANUFACTURING
CONVERSATIONS LARGELY
BECAUSE OF THE FOOD
SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT.
ter can hide or be difficult to remove. "Trays and baskets
are designed in such a way to minimize 'masking' of the
surfaces to be cleaned and prevent wash or rinse water
from being trapped within the tray or basket, allowing
for better cleaning and drying," Mr. Quinn said.
The same crevices that can harbor dirt and bacteria can
also trap water after the tray or basket is dry, and that isn't
any better than trapped dirt. Standing water will encourage bacteria to flourish, so transportation assets are often
created to eliminate these dirt and water traps.
Instead, these suppliers are building assets with flowthrough design so the water drains out of the tray or basket and the blower can remove residue.
The next step? Going further with antimicrobial
materials. An additive package is available now to be
mixed in with a tray's or basket's plastic, but currently
it's a costly option. "There's the plastic and then the color
additive," Mr. Painchaud said. "You might have UV and
antioxidant stabilizers, and then you can actually add in
an antimicrobial. It's an option worth mentioning, but it
can be cost-prohibitive."

Adaptive automated cleaning
New trays are supposed to make it easier for washer/dryer
systems to sanitize trays and baskets. And as tray and baskets evolve to accommodate FSMA, washer/dryer systems,
too, must adapt to the new assets.
"AMF Bakery Systems custom designs the water sprayer configuration to pressure wash all around the tray or
basket in a full 360-degree all axis," said Bobby Martin,
executive product manager, AMF Bakery Systems. "There
is also a guiding system that will adapt to the basket's dimensions to a certain min/max overall degree."
Douglas Machines Corp.'s washer and dryer systems
also can be customized to suit a bakery's trays and bas-

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