Container hygiene requires close monitoring
The online hygiene management of crates and boxes ensures product safety and enables
efficiency checks.
Authors:
Massoud Nahidino, Marketing, Ecolab Engineering
Raimund Laaff, Produkt Manager Food & Beverage, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH
A comprehensive hygiene concept constitutes a safe quality management system in any factory that
produces foodstuffs. This is also the case for so-called peripheral procedures, such as the cleaning of
crates and boxes, where there can be a considerable risk of cross-contamination. With regard to the
washing of crates in foodstuff factories, particular progress has been made in recent years in cleaning
plastic boxes. Increasingly large pools of boxes and more stringent hygiene requirements have given
rise to large washers with high throughputs. The management and routine operation of this complex
equipment require an appropriate network for monitoring its technical, hygiene-related, and efficiency
status, and for documenting that status.
These high requirements translate to self-monitoring, automated procedures that can also be
integrated into existing systems as online hygiene management tools. This enables potential errors
and changes in hygiene parameters to be detected in a timely fashion, documented, and transmitted
online. The online visualization of critical hygiene parameters allows for safe, optimum checks and
enables a reproducible washing process.
Ecolab has developed an online hygiene management system called Aquanta for container and box
washers. This program is used in process design (Aquanta diagnostics) and for recording operating
and consumption data.
Process design (Aquanta Diagnostics)
Without a doubt, systematic analysis by means of the recording of operating parameters on the
washing equipment has a role to play in the implementation of a sound cleaning procedure. Here, the
selection of the detergent has often not been particularly sophisticated in the past. However, it has
now been possible to establish a positive relationship between a low amount of residual moisture and
good microbiological findings, a fact which has fuelled the increasing number of drying zones in multistage washers. The efficiency of this drying process is significantly influenced by the quality of the
prior cleaning process. The extent to which the plastic surfaces are degreased and cleaned dictates
the extent to which the residual water is removed in the subsequent shaker and/or drainage zones.
100
90
100
91
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
16
10
0
Wasser
16°d
water 16°d
Alkalischer,
P3-aquanta
alkaline
and
P3-aquanta XTR 1%
tensidfreierfree XTR 1%ig
surfactant
Reiniger
Fig. 1: Relative residual moisture for plastic boxes in % (100 = 24.5 mg absolute value) when
using different cleaning agents
Detergents with surfactants (surface-active agents) are clearly superior – even in acidic and alkaline
compositions – to non-surfactant preparations, not only with regard to their ability to penetrate and
absorb dirt but also with regard to drying efficiency (see fig. 1 and table 1).
Product
Product type
For cleaning...
Special features
P3-horolith CIP and RD
Acidic
Mineral and
grease/albumen
coatings
Good drying properties
No need for
decalcification
P3-aquanta XTR
Neutral
Grease residue
With rinse effect
P3-mip LF
Alkaline
Stubborn
grease/albumen
coatings
Good drying properties
Hard-water stable
With foam control
Table 1: Performance features of surfactant detergents in washing equipment
(Ecolab GmbH & Co. OHG, Düsseldorf)
The monitoring of the spray nozzles demands special attention. Slight damage to the nozzles or a
change in their position can impede the cleaning mechanism. Special test methods permit the
visualization and evaluation of the spray geometry. This means that the mechanical cleaning effect
can be optimized in a targeted manner.
Acquisition of operating/consumption data (Aquanta Control)
Aquanta Control was developed as a programmable operating data acquisition and control unit for
metering detergent (and, if necessary, rinse aids) especially for use in container and crate washing
equipment. The new Aquanta Control meets current market requirements as well as having additional
forward-looking functions. You can use it to set all required hygiene parameters such as the
temperature and concentration of detergent and monitor them using defined upper/lower limits. The
machine and operating statuses are visualized using the AquantaVisual* PC program on a monitor in,
for example, a central control room, in real time (fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Aquanta Visual control view with operating statuses and measured values
Fig. 3: Aquanta Control overview: With metering system and measured value acquisition as
well as signal and data transfers
FUZZY LOGIC (a self-learning control system) ensures the optimum adherence of the system to the
preset detergent concentration. The detergent is metered in accordance with the measured values
using the inductive, maintenance-free conductivity measurement system in the detergent bath. The
required conductance temperature compensation takes place using the integrated temperature
measurement system in the conductivity sensor. The comprehensive temperature monitoring
function is supported by measurement made in the washing bath, spray system, and drying zone.
The AquantaGet* PC program records and documents the following:

All cases where a value exceeds or fails to reach the preset hygiene-related parameters such
as detergent concentration and temperature (and the subsequent triggering of an alarm)

Consumption values for water and detergent

The number of crates cleaned
The water consumption is also recorded in full on separate inlets. The Aquanta Control extension
module makes it suitable for use with multi-track washing equipment.
The number of cleaned crates is used to calculate efficiency in relation to other cost parameters.
Information on cleaning costs in the selected time period for the analysis and on the work load is
recorded quantitatively.
Summary
Ecolab has developed a system called Aquanta as a safety net for operating and managing crate
washing machine in the foodstuff and meat industry. It provides measures and technology that can be
used to monitor and document the hygiene status of the items being washed in today’s increasingly
powerful washing equipment by means of efficient rinsing functions and the regular checking of the
spray geometry and through the recording of operating data such as the bath temperatures, detergent
concentration, and crate throughput with the AquantaGet* PC program. At the same time, it depicts
consumption data for water, energy, and detergent schema and displays actual throughput figures.
The user-friendly AquantaVisual* online visualization software can be used at all time to facilitate the
real-time utilization of operating and cost data on the hygiene safety of the crate washing machine.
* Compatible with Windows XP®
Crate hygiene worth having
New module for the hygiene management of crates and boxes
Neutral P3-aquanta XTR detergent:
- High cleaning performance on plastic surfaces
- Excellent rinse properties
- Can be controlled via conductivity measurement system
Enhanced Aquanta Control:
- Operating data acquisition, analysis, and documentation
- Online visualization of the operating status using ready-developed AquantaVisual* PC
program
- Calculation of cost characteristics
- * Compatible with Windows XP®
Aquanta Control incorporates all services required for the optimum management of hygiene in crate
washing equipment on the basis of high-performance P3-aquanta products.
High standard of production and the highest possible level of safety for CIP disinfection
A way to increase your safety – products in the P3-oxysan® range have an extremely high ability to
kill off bacteria, yeasts, and mould. The lowest possible usage concentrations and quick action of P3oxysan® ZS and P3-oxysan® CM make them highly cost-effective, efficient disinfectants. The
Connexx product removal system and Ecolab metering technology ensure particularly easy handling
and safe metering. P3-oxysan® CM is a new type of cold disinfectant that is controlled via
conductivity. P3-oxysan® products meet all necessary requirements:
-
High disinfecting performance
Low usage concentration
High efficiency
Conductivity monitoring
Increased process and operating safety with Connexx
Ecolab consultants are available to answer any questions at all times.