Drives & Controls March 2022

36 n BELTS, BEARINGS AND CHAINS March 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com Specifying conveyor belts for food safety Selecting the right conveyor belts, and equipment designed with hygiene in mind, are essential for food- processing applications, as this article from the conveyor and belt specialist Habasit explains. While food plant managers do a good job of keeping their facilities clean, food debris and microbes can still find their way into the tiniest of dead spots. Bacteria can collect on conveyor frames or in the small gaps of plastic modular belts. They can elude the most rigorous cleaning cycles, leading to excessive use of detergent, water, time and energy. Food hygiene decisions need to be made at each stage of manufacturing, processing and packing process. One of the most important items of equipment that runs through all of these stages is the conveyor. In open conveyor systems, food debris can contaminate surfaces and get into crevices and internal support structures. While an effective cleaning plan can help to cut contamination, equipment specifically designed for hygiene can save time, water and the need for cleaning agents. Conveyor components should be hygiene-certified for food. This includes meeting minimum hygiene standards in accordance with regulations and guidelines such as l3-A, NSF or EHEDG guidelines for equipment, as well as food contact regulations issued by the FDA, EU or national bodies. Hygiene-certified components take into consideration factors such as the cleanability of surfaces, and preventing ingress and growth of microbes in dead spaces and on self-draining surfaces. However, these measures are only a means to an end. Applying hygienic-certified components will not prevent outbreaks, but the more problems you can eliminate and the more certified hygienic components you have, the less you have to worry about if you do have an outbreak. Food plant managers should consider three areas when using open conveyors: choosing the right design, choosing the right food contact material to match the process conditions, and selecting belts that are easy to clean. You need easy access to belting from all sides, for operators to inspect, clean, sanitise and validate effectively. Habasit offers a rod retention system with a toolless belt opening that allows line operators to remove and assemble modular belts rapidly for easy cleaning. When choosing food contact materials, it’s important to pick a belt that doesn’t change its mechanical properties or wear quickly when exposed regularly to chemical-based cleaning cycles, at elevated temperatures and with extended contact times. Habasit has created a free online tool to help engineers to identify the chemical resistance of various belt types and materials. It has also developed a plastic modular belt that minimises the use of rods and hinges to aid cleaning – making it ideal for applications such as fish and poultry processing. Choosing the right conveyor belts for food-processing applications is crucial to achieving food safety For more than 125 years Standard Roller chains, Leaf Chains, Conveyor chains, Special bespoke chains, Lifting chains. Chains and wheels for all applications. Tensioning, Pulleys, Couplings Chains and wheels for all Industries . www.kobo.co.uk info@kobo.co.uk