[box type=”shadow” ]Manufacturing facilities are governed by Standard Operating Processes which define the extent of cleaning required for a contamination-free production facility ensuring safety and quality of product. Investments in cleaning products and process are defined accordingly. A large part of the unorganised sector, even today follows methods which ensure no food safety. Clean India Journal attempts to summarise the areas that require cleaning in food processing to ascertain the kind of cleaning products that go into maintaining standards, safety and quality of food products.[/box]

In India, the food sector has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. Currently valued at US$ 39.71 billion, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11% to US$65.4 billion by 2018. Food and grocery account for around 31% of India’s consumption basket.

The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. It contributes around 14% of manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 13% of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment. Indian food service industry is expected to reach US$ 78 billion by 2018.

Food processing essentially involves processed food manufacturing and food service. FSSAI has laid down SOPs for processed food manufacturing and food processing for the implementation of HACCP in India. HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) is an internationally accepted technique for preventing microbiological, chemical and physical contamination along the food supply chain. The HACCP technique does this by identifying the risks, establishing critical control points, setting critical limits, and ensuring control measures are validated, verified and monitored before implementation. The effective implementation of HACCP enhances the ability of companies to: Protect and enhance brands and private labels, promote consumer confidence and conform to regulatory and market requirements.

Food processing industry covers a wide range of products fruit and vegetables; meat and poultry; milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, fisheries, plantation, grain processing and other consumer product groups like namkeen, confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, Soya-based products, mineral water, high protein foods and many others. While leading manufacturers have the SOPs in place to meet the food safety regulations, there are a large number of food processors who are yet to follow the rules of laid down. Some of these products, like namkeen, are manufactured on a large scale and yet the cleaning processes are rudimentary and involve no auditing to ensure food safety.

Investing in quality cleaning machines is all about investing value retention, safety and efficiency in any manufacturing facility. Food industry needs to follow cleaning processes in the production unit and there are specific cleaning products that can be used to ensure food safety.

Cleaning in food plants

The process of cleaning is a mix of manual and mechanical methods involving foaming, spraying, washing, dry cleaning, fogging, sanitizing and others. The correct sequence of a general cleaning procedure for surfaces in a food plant include:

• Gross Clean/Preparation
• Pre-rinse
• Detergent application
• Post-rinsing
• Disinfection
• Terminal rinsing