Adapting technology used in dental surgeries, such as its Safewater electrolysis process, could offer food and beverage firms a quicker and cleaner way to clean factories, it claims.
The Safewater process turns tap-water and salt into sodium hydroxide and hypochlorous acid by running an electrical current through it. The technology is currently being trialled in the UK food sector with an unnamed dairy company.
Mike Cairns, director of global accounts at SPX Flow Technology, UK agents for Safewater, said: “Manufacturers have been cleaning plants in a five-step process for many years using caustic and hot water and various flushes in between. This [Safewater] is allowing major market players to totally change the way they clean and sanitise their plants.”
The Safewater system offers benefits over traditional caustic cleaners for manufacturers looking to meet increasingly stringent social and environmental targets, Cairns said.
Less energy
The system helps manufacturers to significantly reduce water usage. Also because it is a cold cleaning process, less energy is expended in heating, he said.
The chemicals are said to be safe to touch, as they are similar to the chemical process used by the human body to fight infection. Because the solution is a saline solution, it can also be easily disposed of. Once solids are removed, the runoff is safe to go down an ordinary drain, Cairns added.
Also, the SPX Safewater system can be plumbed into a manufacturer’s existing facility, enabling it to offer chemicals on demand, unlike competitor processes where a concentrate has to be diluted with water, he said. This is said to avoid the storage of bulky chemical containers.
But there is still a nature of conservatism to overcome with the introduction of any new technology into the industry.
“It’s not the gestation period of a gnat. It is more the gestation period of an elephant in order to convince our customers they are doing the right things to attain their social and environmental responsibility goals while balancing the need to maintain the integrity of their brand – where food safety has to be paramount,” said Cairns. “The food industry, is a very conservative industry, and runs on the basis that brand is king. The impact of getting something wrong and having to [issue a product] recall is massive.”
Beverage sector
In addition to current trials in the dairy sector, Cairns said other providers were selling it to firms in the beverage sector.
Meanwhile, to avoid the cost and damage of an expensive product recall, why not book your place at Food Manufacture’s Product Recall Conference 2011? The one-day event will take place on Wednesday, November 23 at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham. To book your place at this event click here , telephone 01293 610433 or email Rachel.cannon@wrbm.com.
The conference is being organised by Food Manufacture in association with the Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Speakers include:
Andrew Rhodes, FSA director of operations: Working with industry to manage food safety
Andy Cuerel, senior consultant Razor/College Hill: Managing a crisis
Richard Matthews, Eversheds: Legal responsibilities/recent case studies
Matthew Yeomans, Social Media Influence: Citizen journalists and foodbourne illnesses