Industrial freezers and cold storage are essential to preserving the life of food products, making them essential for modern food production. The hygiene of these is crucial to food safety, industry compliance and operational efficiency, so it is important for you to find a contracted cleaner that you can trust to maintain the high standards required.
These environments differ from standard commercial cleaning due to the low temperatures involved and the food safety element combined. There are risks of cross-contamination between foods, ice build-up that can present a hazard, and potentially, equipment can malfunction if the cleaning processes are not specialised to their requirements.
Cleaning Protocols for Below-Freezing Environments
In industrial freezers, the temperature should typically sit at -18°C in order to halt the growth of microbes that compromise food safety and to maintain the high product quality that customers expect. Some businesses may set their freezers to a few degrees colder to account for small fluctuations and prevent the temperature from rising above -18°C. Some food products, for example, ice cream, benefit from temperatures as low as -29°C.
Some cleaning chemicals reduce in efficiency at low temperatures, and the rapid freezing of moisture can prevent effective cleaning. Therefore, it may be necessary, prior to cleaning, for you to warm up some areas of your freezers. Segmenting areas to be cleaned can help to minimise fluctuations in temperature, and often, dry cleaning methods will be employed to keep your freezers as cold as possible during the cleaning process.
Scraping is highly effective for removing debris and build-up of solids in industrial freezers. HEPA vacuuming may also be employed to collect maximum contamination (these vacuums can capture over 99% of particulates at 0.3 microns).
Controlled wet cleaning employs water with detergents, surfactants and sanitisers to remove stubborn grease and soil from freezer surfaces, ensuring a high level of hygiene. It is highly effective at breaking down and eradicating pathogens that may build up over time. Of course, it requires knowledgeable staff to carefully control the moisture, to prevent damage to moisture-sensitive freezer components. There is also an increase in the downtime of the cleaned area, due to a need for it to be completely dry to resume freezing.
Managing Ice Build-up and Condensation-Related Risks
Ice forms in many key areas of industrial freezers. It can form on floors, racking, coils, central to the cooling system and overhead pipework. This can cause numerous safety hazards beyond the expected risk of slips and falls. Falling ice can present a significant injury risk to employees, and blocked ventilation can create danger in confined spaces, as well as reduce the cooling efficiency of freezers.
There are specific defrosting protocols for preventing the over-accumulation of ice. Some methods are automatic, allowing for continuous operation of the freezer, whereas others are manual to allow for more thorough maintenance and cleaning.
It is vital that door openings are managed and humidity is carefully controlled in industrial freezers to maintain product quality and prevent damage to equipment. Financial and operational losses can result when this is not done effectively.
Well-managed humidity prevents food products from drying out and freezer burning, while also reducing the risk of microbe growth, which may come as a result of uncontrolled moisture build-up. Doorways are the primary point of energy loss and moisture infiltration, so the frequency and duration of door openings must be limited to protect the integrity of frozen products and the freezer environment.
Using Food-Safe Chemicals in Cold Storage and Processing Areas
Regulatory requirements may vary depending on your site and what is held there, but what won’t vary is the requirement to choose cleaning chemicals that remain effective at low temperatures. You should consider choosing products that are no-rinse or quick-rinse to reduce the moisture introduced to your freezer for the reasons listed previously.
Residue management is important in industrial freezers to prevent cleaning products from contaminating stored goods. This is especially important when food is exposed to the open air of the freezer or when packaging is porous. At Matthews Cleaning Company, we have developed stringent protocols for product protection that also ensure peak cleanliness for your freezer.
Equipment and Safety Gear for Industrial Freezer Cleaning
Cleaning an industrial freezer can be a highly dangerous job. It is essential that cleaning staff are appropriately equipped to be protected from the extremely low temperatures inside freezer spaces. These include freezer-safe suits, thermal gloves, facial protection and ice-grip boots. Consideration should be given to anti-fog equipment and anti-freeze chemicals and equipment, especially if moisture will be introduced to the environment.
Tools used in this extreme environment must be especially designed for the purpose, using non-shatter plastics, non-brittle materials and anti-slip handles that interact successfully with thermal gloves worn by cleaning staff. Floor scrubbers and cleaning machinery must be rated for low-temperature operation to ensure that they work effectively.
Workers should be on a rotation, with specific protocols for time spent at low temperatures. Fatigue caused by low temperatures is not only uncomfortable for cleaning staff but can lead to workplace accidents if workers inadvertently lose focus or dexterity in the cold.
Finally, there must be stringent procedures for lock-outs or tag-outs, to protect workers cleaning around dangerous machinery, which must remain turned off for cleaner safety.
Conclusion
Industrial freezers require specialised cleaning to ensure that they remain food-safe for the items stored within them. Staff working in freezer environments are also entitled to a clean and hygienic space. Keeping your system clean will prolong its working life, reducing maintenance costs over time.
The intensity of the industrial freezer as a working environment means that professional teams must be well-trained in cold storage work. This includes knowledge of cold-safe cleaning products and working procedures to protect workers themselves. Contact Matthews Cleaning Company to book an assessment of your industrial freezers for food safety compliance, to see how we could uplevel your cleaning routines to promote your operational capacity in the future.