18 replies to this topic

[Doug W]

Greetings,

We added chocolate to a product for the first time and were wondering about clean up procedures for the messy stuff.

I would appreciate any ideas here. We need to incorporate some chocolate cleaning procedures into our HACCP plan.

Thanks,
Doug

[Charles Chew]

Doug,

The biggest enemy known to chocolate producer is water Boy! you have a major issue to deal with. Definitely no cleaning with water - its messy all right.

Charles Chew

[petegilmartin]

I am not gonna be any help here but cannot resist. Kids with winning gold tickets can lick the chocolate off machines, leaving normal cleaning operations to follow. Apologies to Roal Dahl and forum members.

[Doug W]

Kids with winning gold tickets can lick the chocolate off machines, leaving normal cleaning operations to follow.

Our employees are already implementing this procedure.

[Simon]

Doug,

The biggest enemy known to chocolate producer is water Boy! you have a major issue to deal with. Definitely no cleaning with water - its messy all right.

Charles Chew

Excuse my ignorance but why is hot water and detergent no good? What else could you use?

Simon

[Doug W]

Excuse my ignorance but why is hot water and detergent no good? What else could you use?

Simon

My boss used a pressure washer on some small moyno pumps, which did clean up the chocolate but also removed all the paint from the outside of the motors and frame.

Edited by Doug W, 21 October 2005 - 01:23 PM.

[Simon]

Any further ideas for Doug?

[Charles Chew]

Doug,

If sugar bloom due to moisture is not a problem for your company's products then go ahead and clean your equipment with water but suggest you leave the entire equipment to dry for at least 48 hours before re-use. Otherwise, a couple of scraples and other potential utensils that can help remove the "residues" would appear your only hope.

Its a messy business.
Charles Chew

[Doug W]

If sugar bloom due to moisture is not a problem

Pardon my ignorance, but what is sugar bloom?

Thanks,
Doug

[Charles Chew]

Doug,

When moisture mingles with sugar within the chocolate you get crystallization. This comes in the form of "white spots" on the chocolate product that sometimes look like mold but its not. Its a quality issue.

Moistures can come from different sources - process equipment itself, process environment etc You can get more details from specific tech. or ind. support data.

Charles CHew

[Doug W]

Doug,

When moisture mingles with sugar within the chocolate you get crystallization. This comes in the form of "white spots" on the chocolate product that sometimes look like mold but its not. Its a quality issue.

Moistures can come from different sources - process equipment itself, process environment etc You can get more details from specific tech. or ind. support data.

Charles CHew

Thanks, I'm getting smarter every day!

[Simon]

Thanks, I'm getting smarter every day!

Stick around Doug; you'll be amazed how smart you can get.

[Doug W]

Stick around Doug; you'll be amazed how smart you can get.

It's easy to get smarter when you start out totally ignorant.

[Esther]

Greetings,

We added chocolate to a product for the first time and were wondering about clean up procedures for the messy stuff. I would appreciate any ideas here. We need to incorporate some chocolate cleaning procedures into our HACCP plan.

Thanks,
Doug

Hello

Just an modest opinion
Contact with a good cleaning products company. They know better than anyone how to clean, the way to do it and the proper products to do it. The best example for me was the cleaning procedure for a milk packaging industry.

Esther

[Charles Chew]

Contact with a good cleaning products company. They know better than anyone how to clean, the way to do it and the proper products to do it. The best example for me was the cleaning procedure for a milk packaging industry.

Are you referring to "liquid milk" or "powder milk"? IMO, the cleaning procedures for the different category of milk products demand different procedures amd stringency.

Charles Chew

[Esther]

Are you referring to "liquid milk" or "powder milk"? IMO, the cleaning procedures for the different category of milk products demand different procedures amd stringency.

Charles Chew

Hello

Liquid milk. It is similar to the method used on milk cows farms.
Esther

[Charles Chew]

In your opinion, do you think if different product characteristics and process method affect the choice of cleaning stringency / method?

[Esther]

In your opinion, do you think if different product characteristics and process method affect the choice of cleaning stringency / method?

Hello

Yes.
Depending on what king of products you are using the method can vary: the temperature of the water, the correct order to use them, the time of action, ...

Regards

[Charles Chew]

Esther,
I guess your cleaning company must be very in touch with food safety issues to understand all these OR you control your cleaning company very well. COntrol of approved suppliers on agreed specifications is a significant issue.

Congrats!