PET Food Processing - December 2019 - 56

OPERATIONS

Design features
in temperaturecontrolled
processing areas
can significantly
contribute to the
safe production
of pet foods and
treats.
Sosland Publishing

Gray uses high-speed and sanitary roll up overhead
doors to provide access into the space for fork trucks.
Sometimes fiberglass (FRP) personnel doors are used
to safely segregate workers from fork truck access.
"It is important to intentionally design the personnel doors with card readers or some other form of
access to control cross-contamination and frequent
accessibility," Cundiff says. "Also, designing the refrigeration system to maintain hygienic pressurization of the
space is critical to minimize cooling loss and the potential of contamination."
Space can often be in short supply within temperaturecontrolled rooms, and raw and minimally processed
products typically require refrigeration or freezing systems in addition to the processing equipment. Mark
Kudelka, technical sales manager for Advanced Food
Equipment (AFE), Ridgway, Pennsylvania, says he's seen a
significant increase in premium pet foods that are chilled,
frozen or freeze-dried. "We see an increase in freezedried, high-quality treats and these require freezing prior
to the freeze-drying process," he says. The company provides process freezers and coolers to meet these needs.
Its spiral freezers allow for thousands of feet of belting
to fit in a compact space. "Many systems we provide are
installed in days and can be relocated as the processor's
needs change," he says.
From top to bottom, everything in a refrigerated
space should be addressed to ensure safe, efficient production. Rucker says to consider sealed light fixtures,
potential condensation on pipes, walls and access areas,
and especially flooring finishes. "Drying the floor in a
temperature-controlled wash-down area typically takes
a long time so the floors rarely have a dry walking surface," Rucker says. "Processors need to provide a surface
with proper grip for safety that is also cleanable."

#2: Clean machines
When planning a new processing line, most of the attention - rightfully so - is given to the processing

PET FOOD PROCESSING | December 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

equipment. When designating space in the plant for that
new equipment, don't forget to make room for the washing machines as well.
Many processing systems for food production offer
CIP features, but that just addresses the equipment. What
about the many other items in a plant that come in contact with food products? Adequately cleaning everything
that comes in contact with raw ingredients and the finished product is crucial in a pet food or treat application
that does not include a kill step. Many raw and minimally
processed pet foods and treats are in this category. For
those processing facilities, washing equipment or systems
to clean and sanitize bins, trays, racks, totes, buckets or
anything used in the process that comes in contact with
the finished product or any of the raw ingredients is a key
step to delivering safe, pathogen-free products.
Douglas Machines Corp., Clearwater, Florida, offers
washing equipment solutions for cleaning containers. "As
most product begins as a raw food, cleaning these containers after every use is of paramount importance," explains Kevin Quinn, sales manager, Douglas Machines
Corp. The company supplies washers to clean large bins,
both plastic and stainless steel, as well as smaller 400- and
600-lb. stainless steel vats. The company also offers washers to clean conveyors, racks and weigh scale parts.
As product moves from the raw stage to be processed
and is transferred along this route, efficiently washing everything that comes in contact with product can be challenging and costly, both in time and resources. "Manually
washing large or small containers requires the use of much
larger amounts of water, detergent and labor as opposed to
using an automated washer," Quinn says.
Unlike a home kitchen where the dish washer is located
as close as possible to the dirty dishes, a washing system
should not be placed in a temperature-controlled room
where the processing equipment is located. "Our customers with established facilities often suffer from having the
budget for a washer but not the space," Quinn says. "When
a new plant layout is designed, sanitation equipment

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PET Food Processing - December 2019

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