The moving of sieved dry ingredients from low care to high care environments is becoming a must for food manufacturers supplying consumer goods.
The days of throwing a bag of food product through an open sieving machine and collecting it in a bin on the floor, with the hope that it would not get contaminated further whilst waiting for it to be introduced into the process system are numbered. Today hygiene and quality control are of paramount importance to all manufacturers, the risks involved when leaving product within an unclassified area are not acceptable in today’s high consumer demand and quality production. Due diligence must be seen to be carried out when any ingredients are being used especially when dispensing ingredients from possibly dirty pallets and bins. The consequences of mishandling and contamination can be catastrophic to all concerned – the manufacturer – the retailer – and the consumer. Health, wealth and happiness can all be affected!! Litigation can be very expensive and the loss of a big retail purchaser can be disastrous. To overcome the possibility of cross contamination between a ‘dirty area’ and a ‘production clean area’ has become a very necessary requirement.
Segregation between the unloading and dispensing area and the manufacturing and processing area has required special consideration to how ingredients can be properly handled and sieved; in addition operator safety becomes a special requirement. Health and Safety demands that dust levels are maintained down to an acceptable level, and, the requirement in most instance to comply with the ATEX regulations all add to the issues which need resolving.
When sourcing equipment to carry out this task, it is often difficult to find items which will easily fit together and will suit the space available – a bespoke design being required in nearly all cases. Farleygreene Ltd has now designed a number of suitable options for processors. Available for the small to larger producer, each system provides a simple, effective and clean solution to segregate your ingredient loading and meeting your audit requirements.
Where small quantities of product are handled the simplest means of total segregation between areas is to locate the sieving machine to the outside of an enclosure protruding from the wall of the clean area. This allows the clean bin to be filled through the enclosure top. By using specially moulded diaphragm seals and sleeves Farleygreene can provide a completely isolated sieving arrangement. In addition when combined with the ‘553-STS’ and ‘Easilift’ sack tip stations, the need to clean all contact components becomes a simple and effortless job, requiring only a few seconds of downtime and just a single operator.
Where larger quantities of product are involved, and especially where space is at a premium or distance of product transfer required it is possible to incorporate a vacuum transfer conveyor within the system. The sieve unit can be located up to 40 Meters away from the discharge point thus allowing enormous flexibility within a building. This arrangement provides wide scope of system design. In addition it is possible to charge a number of process points directly without the need for bins or storage hoppers. A system can be designed to suit almost any rate of throughput, and can be incorporated within any type of Farleygreene sieve.
For those requiring higher throughputs of multi ingredients a sack tip counter is very often the best option. Comprising a counter located to the segregated area wall with individual sieves mounted upon it to allow one product to each sieve. Using the unique sealing system between sieve and clean area this arrangement serves the high rate throughput user many benefits. Speed of cleaning without any tools, faster dispensing time, operator comfort. Each system can be supplied with a full dust extraction system, stairways and work platforms.
Farleygreene are noted for their ability to provide answers to difficult processing needs, their portfolio includes many blue chip companies who use their services for not only standard sieving machinery but also to problem solve their quality needs. Coupled with this they can provide full certification of all parts within the system as well as spares and service packages to ensure traceability and optimum performance.
If you have a need for integrity and segregation of your products to suit audit specifications, Farleygreene can certainly provide the system to suit your requirements. Visit www.farleygreene.com to view the vast range of sieving equipment Farleygreene can provide.