SCIENCE-FOOD TECHNOLOGY: MAINTAINING CONTAMINATION IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY
e-Foodtech Future – Recently, contamination in the food industry. occurs due to several factors, one of the main causes is a dirty valve installed in the milk storage tank in the factory. Based on microbiological analysis, Staphylococcus aureus was found to multiply in the dirty valve, causing contamination of the products stored in it. This case is made worse by improper handling and the application of poor sanitation practices. This has become a major concern, especially with the Covid-19 Pandemic. As stated by the Coordinator of the Food Technology Study Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Nahdlatul Ulama Purwokerto, Kavadya Syska.
Some things that must be considered related to contamination in the food industry, namely: sanitation requirements, tracking, maintenance and calibration of equipment, as well as the Mettler Toledo PegaFood Range.
Sanitation Requirements: To reduce both biological and chemical contamination, equipment with easy-to-clean or easy to clean features plays an important role in the manufacturing environment. Other features such as equipment resistance to heavy cleaning procedures and construction of certified equipment can help the food industry follow applicable regulations.
Tracing: It is very important to have a database system that makes it easy for manufacturers to track problems related to the product being produced. If contamination is found during the production process that affects the final result, the product recall process must be carried out quickly to avoid or reduce the onset of damage to the company’s reputation.
Equipment Maintenance and Calibration: Equipment used in the production process plays a very important role in the safety and quality of the products produced. Therefore, the equipment used must be calibrated, verified and maintained periodically. This will ensure that the products produced are in accordance with applicable regulations and are of good quality. With the after sales service program offered by PT. Almega Sejahtera, as a representative of Mettler v in Indonesia, you will get equipment calibration services in accordance with applicable standards in the food industry such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), so that the products produced are of high quality and comply with applicable regulations.
Mettler Toledo PegaFood Range: To answer the challenges related to hygiene design in the food industry, Mettler Toledo introduces the PegaFood series scales, which have several features, including, hygienic design scales in accordance with EHEDG standards. In addition, the scales can be easily cleaned without using a large amount of detergent, thus helping you to save costs and be more environmentally friendly.
The ColorWeight feature can help indicate whether your product is at a weight set by regulation. If your product is below or outside the specified weight limit, then the ColorWeight feature will show red or yellow on the backlight display of the PegaFood scale. This scale is also equipped with a display screen and keyboard that is easy to use, accompanied by adjustable backlight brightness, allowing users to adjust the light as needed on the monitor scales. These PegaFood series scales are very easy to maintain and the data stored on the device can be easily traced, because the scales can be directly connected to the computer for data processing functions. The function is also facilitated by the availability of 5 kinds of templates (templates) to assist users in making reports. This scale also has a time and date feature that can be adjusted.
Sources: interviews and references analysis
Food Technology, UNU Purwokerto: Creative, Innovative, Fantastic
Food Technology, UNU Purwokerto: Developing Creative and Innovative Future
