We work with packaging plants regularly, and the products passing through them vary enormously: food, beverages, medical supplies and consumer goods. What the cleaning has to achieve varies with them.
Requirements follow the product
The cleaning requirements for a packaging plant depend on the specific products being packaged, as well as the packaging materials and equipment used. A plant filling beverages and a plant boxing consumer goods are different jobs with different risks, even if the buildings look similar from the outside.
Sanitation and separation
In general, the focus of cleaning in a packaging plant should be on sanitation and preventing cross-contamination. In practice that means regularly cleaning and sanitizing every surface, piece of equipment and packaging material that comes into contact with the products, and maintaining strict hygiene protocols to minimize the risk of bacterial or viral contamination.
Cross-contamination is the risk that concentrates attention, because it is the one that can affect product that was never near the problem.
High-touch areas
Cleaning and sanitation schedules should be established and followed so that every area of the plant is cleaned regularly. Special attention goes to the high-touch areas where contamination concentrates and spreads:
- Conveyor belts
- Packaging machines
- Any surface handled repeatedly through a shift
A schedule, not a reaction
The plants that pass audits comfortably are the ones running a schedule that was designed in advance, rather than cleaning harder in the week before an inspection is due.
Read more about packaging plant cleaning, or request a quote.
