People who work in the packaging industry perform an incredibly important service. They not only help their clients to sell their goods, but they are also aiding the consumer. The customer can expect to purchase clean, safe and clearly labeled products.
It only makes sense that regular equipment cleaning is vital to such important an industry. If products are manufactured on contaminated machinery, packaging can jeopardize both the consumer’s health and the client’s reputation.
Types of Contamination
Three types of contamination are possible when a packaging facility does not adhere to rigorous cleaning protocol: physical, chemical and microbial. Any type of such contamination can be immensely harmful. In 2018 Hormel had to recall over 1,000 tons of canned food (including their flagship SPAM product) because it had been contaminated by small metal pieces. The FDA has confirmed that toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury may seep into food and other products via contaminated packaging. It has also been demonstrated that dangerous pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli can survive on packaging equipment surfaces for hours – and even days – at a time.
Several cleaning methods are available to the packaging industry, but most fall short of ideal in some way. Traditional cleaning chemicals require painstaking application and must subsequently be completely rinsed off so as to prevent cross contamination. Training staff to correctly handle such cleaning chemicals is costly, as is the personal protective equipment they will need. Shutting down the packaging facility for routine cleaning is expensive. Every minute for which equipment must remain down translates to decreased profitability.
Cold Jet
Whether it handles food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or any other sensitive product, Ice Age Clean offers the best cleaning solution for any packaging facility. Our Cold Jet process bombards surfaces with tiny particles of food-grade dry ice. The procedure is thorough, safe, and able to make short work of virtually any cleaning job.
Dry ice blasting operates on a simple principle. High-velocity solid particles collide with a surface to scour it free from virtually any substance, contaminant or otherwise. Dry ice blasting is extremely effective at cleaning surfaces which are coated with grease, glue, resin, and more. The Cold Jet process is incapable of damaging sensitive equipment and machinery.
Dry ice is also incapable of depositing residues on packaging equipment, thus eliminating the possibility of cross contamination. This makes dry ice blasting especially well suited for facilities which package sensitive goods including food, medicine and medical devices. Dry ice pellets effectively vanish following their application. Unlike plastic pellets or sand, they do not necessitate any subsequent clean-up.
Save Time and Money
Our process is poised to significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to clean any packaging facility. Versatile dry ice blasting requires very little labor, thus minimizing interruption to productivity. It cleans tight crevices and delicate components without the need for disassembly. Because it is suitable for virtually any surface, dry ice blasting eliminates multiple time-intensive cleaning procedures for rubber, plastic and metal machinery components.
Ice Age Clean helps packaging facilities prevent contamination, maintain sensitive equipment, and measurably increase productivity. Don’t let dirty machinery and lengthy cleaning procedures grind your packaging facility to a halt. Contact us today to learn more about what dry ice blasting can do for you!