Are Conveyor Systems Suitable for Food Handling?
Are conveyor systems suitable for food handling? It depends. Choosing a conveyor system for your manufacturing or packaging company is not as easy as it sounds. Especially if the system is going to carry food products. There really are no standards that the conveyor systems are held to. The FDA doesn’t actually regulate this kind of thing. They do regulate materials that can be used with it come to food handling though.
When it comes to choosing the conveyor system you will need to take some details into consideration. Some of those things will be what food product is coming into contact with the system. It will make a large difference in the materials you use and the system you choose. This is not a one size fits all situation.
How to Choose a Conveyor System
We alluded to one of the ways to choose a conveyor system above. What food you have going down the line will be the biggest factor. If you are packaging raw hamburger you won’t use the same line or materials as a company that is packaging yogurt cups.
In the next two sections, we are going to go more into detail about what this means and what to look for in a conveyor system.
Easy to Clean
For any conveyor system that is going to be carrying food around a warehouse the most important thing is that it is easy to clean. Because of handling food products, these lines will need to be cleaned daily if not multiple times a day. Especially if there is a spill of some kind. The things to look for in a conveyor system that is easy to clean are the following.
- Belt lifters
- Washdown rated motors
- Quick disassembly and reassembly
- Clean-in-place systems
- No flat surfaces on the conveyor system
These are just a few of the things that you need to look for that will also make cleaning much easier and more efficient. The worst thing you can have on your food handling conveyor line is a hard to clean system. This will actually cost you time and money down the road.
Proper Materials
Another thing to consider is the proper materials. As we said above the doesn’t regulate the whole food handling conveyor system but they do regulate the materials that can be used in food handling. The conveyor system vendor should know what these materials are and what would be suitable for your business. However, make sure you do your research and know the regulations yourself.
If you are in need of a new food handling conveyor system but aren’t sure where to start. IPM can help. We have supplied many manufacturing companies with their conveyor needs and are confident we can help you. We know the regulations for safe food handling and with all of the information about your product, we can help you fit your warehouse with the proper conveyor system.
Contact IPM Today
Contact Integrated Packaging Machinery today with any questions you have about conveyor systems for your company and production line. Call our engineering consultants at (616) 531-7758 to learn how IPM can equip your company with the correct conveyor for your production needs.
