Meat+Poultry - February 2024 - 70

PET FOOD PROCESSING
element for success, " he said. " Equipment used
for processing fresh ingredients like meat,
poultry, seafood, and even fruits and vegetables
should have smooth, stainless-steel surfaces
that make it easy for operators to clean after
every batch. "
For example, Nowicki bowl cutters/
choppers available from BAK Food Equipment
combine smooth, stainless-steel construction
with hygienic geometry - meaning all
flat, polished surfaces are inclined to 3° to
maximize cleanability.
Mark Giganti, sales director of Mimasa
USA LLC, Elk Grove Village, Ill., noted more
and more companies are implementing
protocols, equipment and controls to
prevent contamination and guarantee safetyclean
environments.
" In a pet food facility, most of the
byproducts are being transported in vats
that arrive at the plant to be processed, so
the correct cleaning and sanitation of the
elements prevents bacteria growth and cross
contamination through the plant and the
process, " he said. " We manufacture solutions to
guarantee the correct cleaning and sanitation
of the vats; at the same time optimizing the use
of water and energy. "
Strong training programs
and consistent compliance
are important tools for
plants to maintain healthy
and sanitary conditions.
The complete cleaning process is
monitored by a software which controls
these critical measurements to guarantee the
equipment is delivering the desired result.
The use of automatic reporting and correct
management of the information will make any
sanitation program more and more sustainable
and efficient.
NEW AND TRUSTED SOLUTIONS
Digital tools are changing the game in
facility cleaning and sanitation - in pet
food processing and virtually every type of
manufacturing. For example, remote access
and monitoring of cleaning and sanitation
processes is becoming standard best practice.
" Facilities are investing in digital platforms,
and the automation of equipment to talk to
those digital platforms, " Alder said. " They're
getting completely unprecedented visibility
across all their manufacturing processes, and
the digital platforms give them the analytic
tools to make sense of all that data. Most
importantly, facilities are getting more and
more savvy about how to put that visibility
and analytics insight into action - they can
monitor KPIs, see trending metrics, set limits
and get automated alerts on risks - before
they grow into full-blown food safety issues
or recalls. "
Joppa, Md.-based Better Engineering
recently updated its sanitary conveyor line
to have vertical doors to give operators
full access to the inside of the machine for
cleanout and maintenance.
" These systems are also designed to
accommodate different levels of automation
for high-volume applications, like bin flipping,
bin stacking and pallet stacking, " said Ryan
Hiss, vice president of sales.
The company also rolled out a new product
called Aqua Insights to address the traceability
concerns for many pet food processors,
especially with the increase in popularity of
fresh and wet pet foods.
" Aqua Insights allows customers to record
and track, in real-time, up to 50 different data
points on a system, " Hiss said. " Tracking these
running parameters enables customers to
identify trends and detect anomalies through
dashboards and customizable visualizations.
Aqua Insights informs end-users, allowing
them to take proactive measures and prevent
potential issues like cross-contamination. "
As strong proponents of automated
processing equipment, BAK Food Equipment
believes utilizing equipment with clean-in-place
(CIP) functionality when possible is the easiest
and most efficient way of ensuring equipment
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Meat+Poultry - February 2024

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