IN the US, industrial facilities of all kinds are required to adhere to numerous federal government standards, and the food-processing industry is certainly no exception.
In warehouses and light industrial areas, and in industries not involved with consumable products, having uncoated concrete floors may be a perfectly acceptable choice.
But in food and beverage plants, where cleanliness and purity are paramount, it is non-negotiable that concrete floors be covered with an appropriate protective coating, very often provided by seamless, hygienic-floor coating systems.
The floor of a food-processing facility is typically exposed to many types of food by-products such as fats, hot oils, blood, sugar solutions, and natural food acids.
Some of these corrosive substances can cause serious damage to concrete.
Additionally, contaminants can infiltrate uncoated concrete, resulting in the uncontrolled growth of bacteria, which is a food-safety hazard.
Coatings selected for application on food and beverage processing facility floors must be durable enough and thick enough to create a protective barrier that prevents contaminants from permeating the concrete substrate and ensures a hygienic surface.
Coating choices
Processors of foodstuffs face demands for hygienic surfaces across a variety of plant areas, all with differing corrosive conditions, such as for dry storage areas, cold storage rooms, and mixing, canning and slaughtering areas.
Floor-coating systems have been developed to meet this range of service conditions, so, the type of floor coating used is one of the most important product specifications a food-processing plant manager can make.
Traffic
The volume and type of traffic is another important criterion in selecting a floor coating for a food-processing facility.
Personnel safety and potential liability issues compel food-processing plant managers to ensure skid-resistant floors by using textured or grit surfaces.
The degree of texture is typically determined by the conditions of operation, frequency of cleaning and maintenance, and presence of oils, greases and other potentially slippery substances.
A high-medium grade of texture for food processing makes sense since these environments are often ‘wet’ either from cleaning agents or from the inherent exposure to oils and grease.
Where high-impact and heavy loads are part of the traffic pattern, a flexible membrane may be applied beneath the floor coating.
Cleaning
Food-processing operation should be pure and up to government standards.
Consequently, food-processing facility floor coatings must be durable enough to handle vigorous cleaning procedures, which typically include very hot water, steam, and aggressive cleaning chemicals.
It is clear that only high-performance floor coatings will withstand this kind of punishing maintenance.
On a typical day, floors are exposed to a variety of process chemicals as well as corrosive cleaning chemicals, primarily detergents.
If a floor is subjected to only minor chemical contact, a thin film coating may suffice, however, if a floor is exposed to the variety of moisture, temperature, and chemical conditions typically found in a food-processing area, it is essential that the plant manager select a thicker, more durable floor coating that can offer sufficient protection to meet those conditions.
In addition to the corrosive nature of the cleaning chemicals, the very hot, high-pressure steam used in daily cleanings can take its toll.
The pressure alone is often capable of removing a standard coating, much like what happens when a deteriorating concrete driveway is pressure-washed.
Because the cleaning process is performed repeatedly and at very high temperatures, it is crucial that the coating be thick and durable.
Application conditions
Yet another factor in selecting a floor coating for a food-processing facility involves application conditions.
While these issues are typically not relevant for installation of floors and coatings in new facilities, they are indeed germane when updating or retrofitting an existing facility.
Food-processing facilities are often very damp, sometimes cool or even cold, and sometimes hot, all in a typical day.
The selected coating must be able to be installed under any and all of these conditions.
Urethane-modified cementitious flooring systems, for example, can perform in steam heat as well as freezing or below-zero temperatures.
Some of these systems also offer a rapid return to service which could be critical to plant operations.