Abstract
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of these studies was to investigate the
cleaning and hygiene of plastic cheese moulds and plastic transportation
crates and to assess the suitability of ultrasonication for cleaning these
dairy devices on a pilot scale and to optimise these cleaning procedures.
Design/methodology/approach – The contamination load in the various process
lines was monitored by use of chemical methods, i.e. EDTA titration and COD
measurement for organic residues and various microbiological techniques for
microbial contaminants. Ultrasonication cleaning procedures for cheese moulds
were planned among parameters applicable to the process environment. The
Taguchi method design of experiments was also used for the cleaning of milk
transportation crates. Findings – Ultrasonication was found to be a suitable
cleaning method for both cheese moulds and transportation crates. Acceptable
cleaning results were achieved using short cleaning procedures with a
temperature under 60°C. Various types of cleaning agents can be used together
with ultrasonication and the plastic materials in the utensils tolerated
ultrasonication. The quality and the efficacy of the cleaning liquid used in
the ultrasonic bath in the dairy plant were rapidly diluted due to the
accumulation of organic soil. To ensure the effectiveness of cleaning, the
quality of cleaning liquid should be measured frequently and threshold limits
for changing the cleaning liquid should be set. The COD measurement proved to
be practical for monitoring the organic load of the cleaning liquid and
traditional culturing, as well as commercial culturing applications, e.g.
Petrifilm™ AC and DryCult® TPC can easily be used for monitoring the level of
microbial contamination. Research limitations/implications – No major
limitations, apart from the required investments, were found for applying the
ultrasonication in the cleaning of dairy devices, e.g. plastic cheese moulds
and plastic milk transportation crates. Originality/value – The work is of
value in highlighting the potential use for ultrasonication in improving the
cleaning procedure of returnable milk transportation crates made of plastic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 31-42 |
| Journal | British Food Journal |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
| MoE publication type | B1 Article in a scientific magazine |
Keywords
- Food manufacturing processes
- Food technology
- Microbiology
- Milk
- Sterilization (hygiene)
