Will bacteria grow on a modular conveyor?
Hi all,
Our production use modular conveyor to convey our finished product (ice) to pack
Our finished product (ice) is transfer to packing machine via modular conveyor . The said conveyor is in wet condition 24/7. my question here is will bacteria growth on conveyor and re-contaminate our product at this wet environment over the time even production non-stop run .
Greetings Carine,
Yes, the conveyor can re-contaminate your product if it is somehow contaminated with bacteria of any kind. The conditions can be almost perfect for bacteria growth (temperature, moisture etc) and it will be even worse if you get bacteria with the ability to form biofilms (see Pseudomonas aeruginosa for example). Furthermore, this is a perfect environment for molds.
So you must introduce breaks in your non-stop production for complete and thorough sanitization of every single part of equipment. Ice falls into potable water legislation, which is extremely strict (as it should be) and in most countries the local state authorities will shut down your production if you get a problem and allow re-opening after thorough inspections and samplings.
Regards.
You say finished product: is this ice in bags riding on a conveyor or actually ice sitting direct on a conveyor to some sort of packaging system?
If you're conveying ice, is the environment temperature controlled? I think pathogens would have a more difficult time developing on the belt if we're talking about a room kept below freezing, but that won't completely prevent it and won't allow you to run this belt without a sanitation break eventually.
You can take some random sampling from that conveyor and have it tested for indicators of growth. A few sets of samples at differing timeframes after a sanitation will give you data for establishing a sanitation schedule that works well.
You say finished product: is this ice in bags riding on a conveyor or actually ice sitting direct on a conveyor to some sort of packaging system?
If you're conveying ice, is the environment temperature controlled? I think pathogens would have a more difficult time developing on the belt if we're talking about a room kept below freezing, but that won't completely prevent it and won't allow you to run this belt without a sanitation break eventually.
You can take some random sampling from that conveyor and have it tested for indicators of growth. A few sets of samples at differing timeframes after a sanitation will give you data for establishing a sanitation schedule that works well.
Ice sitting direct on conveyor.
Yes, we plan to have swab test to decide frequency of sanitation.
The Norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, and Legionnaire's Disease can all cause serious health issues if they infect someone from your ice supply. Studies show that diseases such as E. coli and salmonella can survive in freezing temperatures and can infect a host by attaching to an ice cube
The causes of ice contamination
Ice can be contaminated by various species of bacteria (coliforms, enterobacteria, pseudomonas aeruginosa, escherichia coli, etc.) or chemical agents. Both, if ingested, can be harmful to human health and can make your customers sick. Ice contamination occurs for two main reasons:
- use of contaminated water
- failure to observe good hygiene practices in the production, storage, handling, and use of ice.
ALL food processing faculties need to follow a sanitation schedule. Shut down, perform a full sanitation and then swab with regularity to determine (based on facts) how often the system needs a full shut down