January/February 2019 - 11

PREVENTIVE PLANNING
Markovits said. " The belt doesn't
levitate, it actually conveys, so it goes
through a circuit on the frame. It's
really important that the belt profile
is conducive to good product release.
" You don't want it to have any fibers
or wicking ability. If you have fibers on
the belt it will wick and keep moisture,
and moisture is where listeria harbors, "
he said.
" You want conveyor surfaces - both
top and bottom - to be very open and
easy to clean with no crevices and
pockets, " he said. " And then you want
the conveyor belt to be on a system that
runs without tension. You want to be
able to literally lift up to access and
clean - you want to be able to get in
there and do your hygiene sanitation
process without fighting a machine
that inhibits you. "
In The Netherlands, Feltracon, a
company that designs belt technology for
the fruit, vegetables and meat processing
sectors, has also been looking at how
they can improve hygienic design of the
conveyor belts they offer.
" Food safety is of great importance
to design and automation in the
food processing industry, not only
the conveyor belts, but also our
washing and drying and weighing
components, " said company engineer
Henk van der Wiel.
" For each project, we analyze all
product features and the process
plan, " he said. " We address al l
product contact parts and minimize
the amount of product transfers in a
total process. With this information
we select and design the best solution
for the product. "
Another Dutch company, Volta
Belting, develops, manufactures and
promotes Thermo Plastic Elastomer
(TPE), homogeneous conveyor belts.
Business Development Manager David
Genossar said.
" The Homogeneous TPE belts,
19-01 Produce Processing Half Page AD.WYMA.pdf 1 2018-12-03 1:19 PM
friction driven and positive driven
belts, offer solutions for conveyor belts
with improved hygiene properties, " he
said. " The belts do not have any fabric
carcass member, as the traditional
FOOD SAFETY
friction driven belts, and compared
to modular belts, no links, no pins, no
crevices that offer hidden harbor areas
for bacteria to grow. "
Another challenge is the fabric used
in traditional friction driven belts is
difficult to clean and deteriorates with
the chemicals used for cleaning.
" Volta belts eliminate this risk, "
Genossar said. " Modular belts have
thousands of hidden areas in the
structure of the belts, assembly of
thousands of parts with hidden areas.
The homogeneous belts offer no such
areas; therefore, lower bacteria counts
and lower risk of contamination. "
Today's food processors are
constantly under the gun to reduce
the risk of outbreaks and improve food
safety standards. Working together
can lead to overall improvement. As
Stout pointed out, even though the food
processing sector is highly competitive,
food hygiene should not be an area of
competition. Working together will help
to minimize risk for the public - and
each other.
PRODUCE PROCESS ING
11
January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2019
