Baking & Snack - October 2018 - 105

EQUIPMENT
Wrappers

CLEAN

Modern flowwrapper designs not only standardize sanitation but also surge efficiencies.
by Nico Roesler

Baking companies want to avoid at all costs recalls due
to allergens or other contaminants. In many manufacturing plants, the highest levels of sanitation are being
extended even all the way through packaging until the
products are safely on a distribution truck and on their
way to the consumer. At the horizontal wrapper, products like bars, which often contain nuts and other allergens, can break. This debris in, on and around these
machines presents a sanitation challenge that bakers are
taking seriously. Even though wrapping occurs after the
kill step in the oven, manufacturers are not taking any
chances, especially when it comes to allergens.
"Bakers have the oven that for centuries has killed
everything that's been a problem in the product," said
Dennis Gunnell, vice-president of sales and marketing,
Formost Fuji. "Now, they're taking it to the next step and
asking, 'How are we going to improve sanitation all the
way through to the truck?' "
Bakers are more willing to invest in sanitary designs
featuring tool-free removal of parts, clean-in-place (CIP)
systems and full washdown capability than they were five
to 10 years ago, Mr. Gunnell added. But understanding
what constitutes sanitary design isn't universal.
Bill Kehrli, vice-president of sales and marketing,
Cavanna Packaging, said there is much more to sanitary
design than washdown capabilities, and bakers don't always know that. Sanitary design elements can be incor-

porated into any machine at varying levels. Fall-through
design for debris, angled surfaces and easily removeable
parts are all sanitary design elements. But the methods
used to clean them vary. Just because a piece of equipment
is stainless steel doesn't mean it can be washed down.
"Therein lies a complete gray area and the baking industry in general doesn't understand," Mr. Kehrli said. "The
whole definition is so misunderstood. I spend so much of
my time trying to peel back the layers of the onion to figure
out what the customer wants or needs and what we think."
He explained that bakers, equipment suppliers, customers and consumers all have different understandings
of clean. Scrubbing out a clear definition is possible; it
just takes communication.

See-through guards
and easy-access areas
make flowwrappers
easier and faster to
clean and inspect.
Formost Fuji

Levels of clean
Every facility has its own specific sanitation requirements, so communication with equipment suppliers can
establish the proper level of sanitation. It's not enough to
simply request full washdown or all stainless steel. Mr.
Kehrli said bakers need to think about facility features
like floor drains or their desired cleaning methods and
communicate that with suppliers.
"Some bakers don't allow any water in the plant because it attracts bacteria," Mr. Kehrli said. "So, they want
dry clean, but they still want sanitary design. It all depends on what your intentions are for clean."

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Baking & Snack - October 2018

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