Distribution centres and food stockists have a duty of care when it comes down to food safety. This week's article looks into and discusses the reasons for food grade coatings and why they are so important to the catering industry.
There are many variants of food safe coatings out there. However, they all have the same end goal, and that is to ensure that the food manufactured or stored in a certain facility remains contamination and bacteria free.
Companies such as ourselves provide businesses with a full on site food grade spraying service to assist with this. Using a specialised coating, certified technicians are able to apply a spray coating that is highly durable, bacteria free and long lasting.
The overall aim of these coatings is to ensure that the safety of the food is never compromised. The coatings we use here at CJ Paint Spraying comes with a number of benefits. These have been proven to reduce the growth of harmful bacteria such as MRSA and E-Coli.
The risks of not coating a clean room or food safe area sufficiently can be extremely costly.
Failing to ensure that food safe spraying is completed will result in the likely contamination of food products, leading to customer complaints, staff and customer illnesses, loss of sales, damaged reputation and more.
Personally, if I was taking charge of a local food storage facility ' one of my first jobs would be to ensure that the storage area and handling zones where thoroughly cleaned and correctly coated. Not only will this reduce the chances of the above points from occurring, but it will put you and your business in good stead going forward.
In the food production industry, there is a range of standards you must adhere to; this can be national and international depending on where your food is going. Particular food safe coatings have a range of properties that work alongside your health and safety. In normal paints, you can find volatile organic compounds which usually is solvents. These solvents can be released into the air as the paint starts to dry. Solvents can cause a range of acute symptoms including headaches and dizziness if your employees are inhaling solvents over long periods of time this could also lead to more serious symptoms such as cancer.
Food poisoning is one of the biggest worries in the food production industry; this is because it can spread like wildfire. Once bacteria has grown, it can be easily transferred.
Here at CJ Paint Spraying, we use a water-based product which means while spraying it dries a lot quicker, therefore reducing the loss of production time. We adhere to all strict food safety regulations as we understand the need for food hygiene.
Unfortunately, due to the number of people that enter your food area, there is a wide range of bacteria and contaminants they bring along with them. Usually located either on shoes or hands, no matter how much you wash something there is still a small chance you can contaminate food.
There are many benefits you need to consider when it comes to food safe coatings. All food safe coatings are resistant to hot water, oils, any fats and steam, this means that nothing can break through the coating nor can it affect the hygiene. Food safe coatings are much easier to clean as they are a non-porous surface, this means contaminants and bacteria find it hard to stick to the surface.
Coatings can withstand extreme temperatures, if you are in a food processing factory which requires the temperature of the room to be extremely hot or cold the coating is not affected.
Food safe coatings also give you a piece of mind when prepping any food. It will allow you to prep the food in a fully protected zone. All food prep areas will be in accordance with food hygiene regulations.
There are a number of different industries that may require a food grade coating. The Food and beverage industries are some of the main businesses that require a food-safe coating to ensure they meet food hygiene regulations. Many restaurants, pubs and bars require a food hygiene rating, if the score is low, the food standards agency help businesses to improve their overall hygiene rating.
Breweries are open to a lot of contamination and bacteria exposure, due to the way they produce the beer, and the temperature some of the liquid has to reach can help cultivate bad bacteria. Alcohol is usually left for long periods of time for it to develop into the drink we like to consume which means it is imperative they are stored in a clean and sanitary place. For any alcohol to be produced in safe and hygienic environment it is vital they have a food grade coating applied.
Educational facilities need to ensure they are extremely clean and safe at all times. We all know children are less likely to wash their hands and tend to bring a lot of dirt inside. It is more likely for bacteria to breed which is why it is so important that these areas are kept clean and sanitary. The last thing you want is to be giving your students food poisening, food grade coatings minimise the risk of this happening and also help during the cleaning process.
Food grade coatings are a great way of fighting the risk of contamination and bacteria growth. If you do not have a food-safe coating you may want to think about having one installed, not only are you more likely to meet your food safety regulations or food hygiene rating, it also helps to make the cleaning process easier.
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