Dry Ice Blasting and the Food Industry
Dry ice blasting is a technology used worldwide in the food processing industry. The extreme cold temperature of dry ice (-79 degrees Celsius) means that the actual process of blasting can actually remove colony units of bacteria growth. As the dry ice pellets we use are food grade Co2, dry ice blasting has immense success in this field.
So why doesn’t the UK Food Standards Agency certify dry ice blasting as best practice? After all in the US and across mainland Europe, dry ice blasting has become the first choice in production equipment cleaning.
Not only are we classed as food safe, we are also inert, meaning that we don’t pose an explosion risk, especially when dealing with flour mixers. We can also access areas where traditional cleaning can’t reach such as, conveyor components, bulbous welds, crevices etc.
Some Other Benefits of Dry Ice Cleaning are:
On site cleaning – no dismantling of machinery. It is cleaned right in situ.
Non Hazardous – no toxic chemicals are used, reducing the risk of cross contamination.
Non Corrosive – as we use no abrasive cleaning agent’s machinery damage is avoided.
Bacteria Removal – dry ice blasting is effective in E.Coli, Listeria and Salmonella removal from food grade plastic, stainless steel and ceramic surfaces.
Waterless – we leave behind no residue and are a completely dry process.
Slowly the food industry is becoming more and more aware of dry ice blasting. The benefits to the industry are enormous in increased hygiene and reduced machinery downtime. It’s unfortunate that our standards industry doesn’t recognise this leading technology also!