The food manufacturing industry in the UK is highly regulated to ensure food safety and quality. Investing in the right equipment is crucial for any food business to achieve success and remain compliant with legal requirements. Today, we will outline the top three essential types of equipment that food manufacturers should invest in. With the proper hygiene, processing, packaging, and testing equipment, food companies can efficiently produce high-quality, safe products that meet customer expectations.
1. Hygiene Equipment
Hygiene is the most critical aspect of food manufacturing, so investing in top-quality hygiene equipment should be the number one priority. Good hygiene practices prevent cross-contamination and reduce the risks of food poisoning, spoilage, and product recalls. Essential hygiene equipment includes:
- Industrial Hygiene Equipment - This includes large washers, sterilisers, and cleaning systems designed for efficiency in a food factory environment. Items like crate washers, bottle washers, and cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems allow thorough sanitisation of equipment, surfaces, and packaging. High-end industrial hygiene equipment suppliers offer complete hygiene solution packages.
- Food Hygiene Equipment - Basic food hygiene tools, such as AES Food Equipment’s hygiene products, like sanitising hand wash stations, sink units, and sanitising foot baths, should be placed at entrances and throughout production areas. Food-grade detergents, sanitisers, and cleaning tools like brushes and squeegees are also essential for proper daily sanitisation procedures.
- Protective Hygiene Equipment and Clothing - Hair nets, beard nets, gloves, overalls, aprons, and footwear should be supplied to staff to prevent contaminants from entering food zones. Ensure gloves and aprons are changed regularly.
- Hygiene Monitoring Equipment - Items like handheld ATP testing systems allow quick hygiene checks to identify problem areas. Temperature probes monitor fridges, freezers, and food temperatures. Swabbing kits are used for microbiological testing.
2. Processing Equipment
The food processing equipment selected depends on the type of products made, but some common essentials include:
- Food preparation equipment like peelers, slicers, dicers, shredders, mixers, and mincers. Stainless steel benchtop models are ideal.
- Cooking equipment such as ovens, grills, fryers, microwaves, and steamers. Industrial-scale equipment allows mass production.
- Refrigeration units like blast chillers rapidly cool cooked foods prior to further processing. Fridges and freezers store ingredients and finished products.
- Metal detectors and X-ray inspection systems identify foreign body contaminants. Magnets and sieves also remove hazards.
- Weighing and portioning machines ensure accuracy and consistency. Multihead weighers speed up processes.
- Fillers and sealing machines automate bottling, canning, and pouch packing processes.
3. Packaging Equipment
Investing in the right packaging systems ensures products stay fresh and appear appealing:
- Thermoforming, flow wrapping, and other automated packaging machines create airtight, tamper-evident packs rapidly.
- Label printers and labelling machines accurately and efficiently apply date codes, ingredients, barcodes, branding, etc.
- Shrink wrap machines, and bundlers create secure multipacks ideal for retail displays.
- Pallet wrappers stretch film around loaded pallets to stabilise loads for transportation. Pallet jacks, hand trolleys, and forklifts move heavy loads.
Food manufacturing equipment represents a major investment, but the right tools allow businesses to improve productivity, comply with legislation, reduce waste, and boost product quality, safety and profitability. Prioritising hygiene solutions and then complementing them with the other equipment listed above puts you on the path to success.
