Reduce Food Processing Contamination With an Open Spiral Conveyor Design

Whether you are in the meat, seafood, or frozen food processing industry, sanitary conveyors are an integral part of your manufacturing business. A spiral conveyor system, for example, is not just used to transport products but also be an essential part of the process.

Besides ensuring the optimal performance of your equipment like industrial food grade conveyor belts, you need to adhere to equipment hygiene regulations. Violating safety regulations can result in product recalls, poor product quality, spoilage, and consumers potentially getting ill.

With one in six Americans getting sick every year because of contaminated food, there is a growing pressure on manufacturers to clean the production line.

Three Things Modern Food Manufacturers Look for in Conveyors 

In the United States, about 80 percent of the food supply moves on conveyors, and on average, the direct cost of a single food recall costs a manufacturer $10 million. Food manufacturers today look to achieve the following with their processing plants with the help of innovative conveyor systems:

• Increased production volumes while maintaining product quality: To meet customer demands and promote brand loyalty, it might be time to upgrade your equipment.
• Conveyors that can carry heavier loads while meeting sanitation requirements: Food manufacturers need conveyor systems with better throughput that can be easily sanitized. A good balance of these factors guarantees quicker ROI.
• Lowered cost of operation and maintenance: When designing a processing plant or acquiring new equipment, things that are typically considered are cost of capital plus ongoing costs like operation, sanitation and maintenance.

Aside from performance factors, it is a food manufacturer’s responsibility to be proactive in addressing potential contamination issues.

Common Challenges Associated with Sanitizing Conveyor Belts

Practicing good conveyor belt hygiene can become a challenge depending on their design, the design of the frame, and the materials they are made of, and their rate of wear.

Different conveyor belt surfaces will have different cleaning methods and effective cleaning agents.

You also have to pay attention to the junctions or mechanical joints where soil build-up is often inevitable.

Other challenging spots include the frame, cages, and mounting. It is common to have hard-to-see and hard-to-reach areas during washing or manual cleaning. Some of these parts cannot even be visually inspected. Over time, this can translate to a potential sanitary issue.

4 Ways the SDCC Spiral Conveyor System Can Save you from Sanitation Issues

A good conveyor system not only helps improve production and quality of products, but it also makes sanitation painless.

Here are some benefits of using SideDrive Conveyor Co.’s sanitary spiral conveyor.

Minimal Harborage Areas

With SDCC’s design, maintenance is simple and harborage areas are minimal. The spiral conveyor features a sanitary open stainless-steel frame. Most of the structural frame materials are flat plates and surfaces are pitched wherever possible.  The  design of course features continuous welds to ensure the system traps no debris or other materials.

Effortless Cleaning

You can easily access all areas of the conveyor system when cleaning because of its unique cantilever frame design. This high level of accessibility leads to sanitation that cannot be achieved with drum-driven conveyor systems, where cleaning inside the drum is next to impossible.

Sanitary Drive Construction

Besides its open-frame design, the spiral conveyor system uses hygienic sprockets and wear strips that are compliant with USDA standards and an extremely accessible drive train, completely outboard of the spiral itself. 

Made of Durable Conveyor Materials

The SideDrive Sanitary Spiral Conveyor System features modular belting made of durable plastic. These materials are wear-resistant and can stand repeated exposure to conveyor belt cleaning chemicals and thorough washdowns.

Eliminate the Chance of Contamination with a Sanitary Spiral Conveyor System

At SideDrive Conveyor, we can work with you closely to optimize your production line.

Contact us today to upgrade to a conveyor system that’s easy to clean and can help guarantee food safety.