Baking & Snack - July 2019 - 83

the equipment and/or a finished baked good, and that ingredient has an allergen contaminant or a pathogen? Surely
wet cleaning will become a consideration for any processor
that has these types of risks."
Several bakeries rely on CIP systems. "CIP systems
are more commonly used on a conveyor when running a
modular belt," said Greg Stravers, senior vice-president and
head of PFI, a division of Precision Inc. "This helps to clean
the niches that are created by the many hinges and modules
that make up the belt."
Mr. Stravers added that positive-driven extruded thermoplastic belting has much less need for the CIP systems
because it's a solid, homogeneous material. "However, in
some positive-driven applications, the conveyors can be
installed in areas that are elevated and less accessible for
cleaning, and CIP systems can be installed in those areas
that are difficult to access."
Using CIP systems on conveyors requires the infrastructure and utilities to support it, such as proper drain
placement and sufficient water supply. "Additionally, the
design of the conveyor itself may not allow for the use of
CIP systems," Ms. Rasmussen observed. "Upgrading to CIP
systems can address hard-to-clean areas, such as sprockets.
An additional incentive is that these automatic systems decrease the resources and time needed to manually clean a
conveyor, allowing sanitation personnel to focus on other
tasks. Keep in mind, however, that the CIP cycle does need
to be monitored."
As a result, bakers need to balance out what type of cleaning is most effective and economical for their operation.
That's why many companies today incorporate sanitary
design into their return-on-investment (ROI) calculations
for new equipment. "A more sanitary design offers a better ROI because even though labor is still required to clean
each conveyor, the time for cleaning is heavily reduced,"
Mr. Martin said. "Less time required to clean is less expensive on labor and may result in more uptime production."
Mr. Stravers recommended designing conveyors to eliminate any hidden areas. Additionally, rounded or sloped
surfaces will prevent product buildup. "Conveyors should
have removable bed rails - by hand, no tools required -
to not only clean the rails more effectively, but to access the
framework," he said. "Conveyor take-up assemblies should
be simple and made with no threaded rod - acme threads,
if necessary - to make it easier for sanitation."
He added that any conveying equipment that isn't easily
dismantled in order to effectively clean unavoidable harborages poses a risk to production.

Replacing those worn parts
Because belting carries finished goods, it receives the most
attention, but bakers need to ensure that the conveyors'
frames and key components are adequately scrubbed.

Playing it safe with acetal belting
It's easy to see why acetal belting
is popular for conveying products
through freezers and other areas of
the plant. "It is strong, tough and has
a low coefficient of friction against
many materials available," said Adam
Bannerman, lead engineer of Intralox's
food new product development group.
However, it's also flammable. "If
acetal ignites, the flame it generates is
really hard to see," said Bobby Martin,
executive product manager, conveying
systems, AMF Bakery Systems.
Specifically, acetal burns with a bluish or clear blue flame. "You're likely to
smell the formaldehyde from acetal before you see the flame," said Kenneth
King, commercial support manager,
Ashworth Bros.
Mr. Martin added that acetal is the
go-to material up to the oven loader
whereas nylon is used due to its proximity to the heat source. However, acetal should not be used post-oven for
cooling or anywhere near high heat.
Nylon material is preferred, sometimes
up to the packaging area.
For spirals, Intralox uses a special
material called SELM, which stands
for self-extinguishing, low-moisture
absorption. For other applications in a
bakery, Mr. Bannerman said, heatresistant nylon belting mitigates the
risk of fire in hazardous areas.
Mr. King suggested placing fire
systems in close proximity to spiral
systems as a safety precaution when
using acetal belting. Additionally,
maintenance personnel need to shield
the plastic belting, especially if they're
welding on, above or adjacent to a
conveyor. "When you weld something, you're going to get sparks," he
noted. "If that area is not shielded well
and sparks lay on the belt, that's the
ignitor."
Ashworth labels acetal belting to signal its risk of potential flammability.

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