If you own a food processing business, the chances are you’ll be dealing with food trays and plastic food crates on a daily basis. But what happens to them once the contents are emptied? They need to be washed! We take a look at the importance of crate washers in the food industry and how they can help your business meet hygiene standards, maintain the quality of your products and more.
How Do Food Industry Crate Washers Work?
A food industry crate washer uses a combination of water, detergent, and mechanical action to clean trays. Here’s a simple breakdown of how a typical machine operates:
- Loading: Trays are loaded into the machine.
- Pre-wash: Trays are rinsed to remove loose dirt and debris.
- Main Wash: High pressure water jets and detergent thoroughly clean the trays.
- Rinse: Trays are rinsed with clean water to remove any detergent residue.
- Drying: Trays are dried using warm air or other drying methods.
The entire process is automated for consistent and reliable cleaning, helping your business save time and money.
Why Are They So Important?
One big reason for this – it’s to ensure food safety and hygiene. Dirty trays and crates can harbour bacteria, mould, and other contaminants that pose a risk to food quality and consumer health. Regular and thorough cleaning with a crate washer helps eliminate these risks, helping your business to comply with all relevant hygiene and safety regulations.
What’s more, clean crates won’t affect the quality and intended taste of the food!
Types of Food Crates That Can Be Washed
Crate washers can be built to handle a variety of crates used in different stages of food processing and handling. Here are some common types of crates that can be washed:
Baking Crates
Used in bakeries and confectioneries, baking trays and crates can accumulate grease, dough, and batter residues from products such as bread and chocolate.
Meat and Poultry Crates
Crates used for handling and processing meat and poultry need rigorous cleaning to remove blood, fat, and other residues.
Fruit and Vegetable Crates
Crates for sorting, washing, and packaging fruits and vegetables can get covered with soil, pesticides, and organic matter.
Dairy Product Crates
Dairy crates, which may hold products like cheese, butter, and yoghurt, require thorough cleaning to remove dairy residues that can spoil quickly.
Seafood and Fish Crates
Handling seafood involves dealing with fish scales, slime, and strong odours.
Packaging Crates
Crates used for packaging various food items need to be clean to avoid contaminating the packaged food.
Frozen Food Crates
Crates used for freezing food can have residues from frozen products.
Unitech manufactures tray washers to help with the cleaning of all of these crates, making sure they’re ready for reuse without contamination.
How Many Crates Can Be Washed?
Continuous tray washing machines from Unitech are able to wash anywhere from 100 units per hour up to 6000 units per hour. Smaller, compact tray washers are capable of washing between 50 to 400 units per hour.
For a more accurate answer, other factors need to be taken into account. This includes the size of the trays/crates, the level of soiling, and the wash cycle duration.
Choosing the Right Crate Washer
Looking to purchase a machine for your food processing facility? It’s worth going through a few things quickly first.
- Capacity: How many trays or crates are you looking to wash on a daily basis? Is it dozens, hundreds or thousands? Ensure the washer can handle the volume your operation requires.
- Water and Energy Efficiency: Look for models designed to minimise water and energy usage.
- Ease of Use: Choose a machine that is simple to operate and maintain.
- Durability: Invest in a robust and reliable machine that will withstand heavy use.
At Unitech, we can manufacture and supply crate washers which tick all of the above.
Buy A Crate Washer from Unitech
Our food crate washers are constructed using the latest hygienic principles and best practices. Our team is committed to producing the highest quality cleaning systems that deliver reliable results. Contact us today on 01543 224608 and we’ll be happy to discuss your needs.