4 CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SELECTING DRAINS
DRAINAGE IN AN SQF CERTIFIED FACILITY
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR DRAINS MEET SQF STANDARDS
DRAINS THAT MEET NSF/ANSI/3-A STANDARDS
Food and beverage processing facilities face extreme temperatures, harsh cleaning chemicals, and heavy physical loads from forklifts and other equipment. Drains are central to daily operations, and because of this, they need to be built to withstand all of these challenges.
Hygienic drainage allows producers to follow strict sanitation procedures while combating serious pathogens such as listeria and salmonella.
Poor planning, drainage selection, and installation increase contamination risks and decrease plant efficiency.
This guide is designed as an easy reference to help producers understand the top considerations when selecting hygienic drainage for a new or upgraded facility.
4 CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SELECTING DRAINS
Drains are one of the most important pieces of equipment in a food and beverage (F&B) processing facility. You can select the right drainage by following these four simple guidelines.
1. Regulated Design
If you are building or redesigning an F&B facility, it’s important to ensure that your drains meet hygienic equipment standards. Drains are equipment, and like any other piece of equipment on your production floor, they need to be constructed to meet hygienic design principles.
Because most of the microorganisms, food residues, and other soils in food processing plants are funneled down into drains during the cleaning process, most microorganisms are found there, where optimal conditions for their growth and multiplication are readily available.
Because drains are so prone to bacterial growth, they must meet ASPE hygienic design principles including: sloped surfaces, no-niche design, fully drainable basins, and stainless steel construction. Only when these conditions are met can drains be properly maintained. This system allows you to meet federal regulations and maintain industry best practices.
2. Cleanability
Food processing drainage systems require thorough cleaning daily. This includes scrubbing both the exterior and interior surfaces of the drain. Depending on your drainage design, this can be a time-consuming process. Choosing a drainage system that minimizes your cleaning and labor costs provides a lower total cost of ownership for the system.
Grated trench drains are necessary for certain applications, but cleaning the grates is labor-intensive. Slot drains have no grates, making the surface of the drain easy to clean. Drains should be sold with strainer baskets to enable easy solids management. Brushes and paddles are also necessary to clean the interior of the drain in high-risk environments.
3. Durability
Food processing drainage systems must resist chemical and thermal shocks.
In F&B processing facilities, boiling kettles are regularly dumped on the floor to run into the drains. Cold water can also be dumped down the same systems leading to expansion and contraction within the system
These same plants will also face chemical abrasion from both acidic and alkaline substances.
We have seen tomato and orange juice plants with drains severely eroded by the acids from the processed fruits or vegetables.
Cleaners sit on the other end of the pH spectrum and are very alkaline. Drains need to be made of materials like stainless steel that can handle both extremely low and extremely high pH. Stainless steel outperforms iron and other drainage materials. It can withstand high-temperature liquids and corrosive materials.
4. SAFETY
Make sure the drainage system is safe for your staff or customers to walk on, especially if you have a forklift or other heavy traffic in your plant or warehouse. This means selecting drains that are rattle-free, flush-fitting, and that meet load ratings for the equipment that will be driven over them.
A floor drain’s load rating is a classification that indicates the type and magnitude of load it can be expected to support under ideal, standardized test conditions, giving specifiers a clear way to match the drain to its intended environment.
Inadequate drainage systems can break down, causing dangerous situations. Drains need to be maintained and replaced if they become damaged to eliminate safety risks. Inadequate safety puts you at risk of regulatory sanctions and lawsuits that can damage your company’s financial health.
TYPES OF DRAINS
While point drains and trench drains have been around for a long time and have been the go-to for drain solutions in a plant, they are not a universal solution. Below is a list of different drains that food process plants consider in their facilities.
Point Drains
A point drain collects water from a single point, or gully (similar to the drain in the middle of a bathroom floor). Point drains are sometimes called Area Drains or Floor Drains. They are designed to remove liquids from a specific area or zone. They are often made to serve areas of 400 square feet or less. Each point drain requires a network of subsurface drainage. This is in contrast to linear drain which use less underground plumbing. 
While point drains are well-suited to some projects, they can add complexity and cost. Using multiple point drains requires complex floor slopes and a large network of underground plumbing.
By contrast, linear drains require less complex floor slopes and less underground plumbing because the drain itself moves liquids to a central outlet. Point drains can be difficult to position in high-traffic areas or areas with many pieces of equipment.
Trench Drains
Trench Drains are a form of linear drain. They can be cast-in-place or prefabricated. Cast-in-place drains are simply made from concrete with a grate on top. These drains are extremely susceptible to corrosion from caustic substances.
Trench drains have a wide inlet that requires a grate to allow people and equipment to pass across the drain safely. Trench grates should only be made from stainless steel if they are being used in F&B facilities. Cast iron grates can rust and plastic grates can crack. In addition grates can trap bacteria and are time consuming to clean. While grated trench drains have their uses in high-volume drainage situations they are not the ideal drainage solution for highly regulated environments that require an advanced level of sanitation.
Slot Drain Systems
Stainless steel Slot Drain Systems are another type of linear drain. They offer many advantages over cast-in-place and HDPE trench drains. They are easy to install, easy to clean, and exceptionally durable. They also move liquids at high flow rates to keep production areas clean, safe, and dry. Most importantly, they do not have grates. The lack of grates makes them safer and easier to clean, reducing maintenance costs over the life of the drain.
Slot Drain's modular systems are well suited for even the toughest applications, including manufacturing and industrial facilities and food processing plants.
For more info on different types of drains, check this blog post http://blog.slotdrainsystems.com/different-types-of-drainage-systems.
Slot Drain Features Checklist
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SANITAtion
The biggest advantage of using Slot Drain in your food processing facility is how sanitary the system is. The stainless steel surface can be used wherever floor or ground surfaces are subject to fluids.http://blog.slotdrainsystems.com/food-processing-facility-drain-sanitation-guidance
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EASY TO CLEAN
Due to Slot Drain’s precise slope and smooth interior, it is self-draining and easy to maintain. With no grates to scrub, the slot drain can be quickly cleaned with a cleaning paddle and brush as part of daily maintenance. Learn more about cleaning slot drains here.
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CIP (Clean IN Place)
CIP is a method of cleaning that is commonly used in hygiene-critical industries, such as food and beverage processing, dairy, brewing, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics. Our CIP system allows you to quickly and easily sanitize your drains.
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LOAD CLASS RATED
Slot Drain Systems are available in load rated configurations which can withstand the weight of an airport.
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MINIMUM MAINTENANCE
Cleaning the Slot Drain can be done automatically when using a Flush Flo System. http://blog.slotdrainsystems.com/how-much-do-you-spend-per-year-cleaning-your-trench-drain
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FLOW RATES
Slot Drain Systems can accommodate liquids up to 27 gallons per minute (per foot of drain). Which calculates to 270 gallons per minute, per 10-foot section.http://blog.slotdrainsystems.com/go-with-the-flow-trench-drain-flow-rate-comparison
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EASY TO INSTALL
Slot Drain Systems come in premanufactured sections that can be bolted or welded together. IT is presloped and features an integrated catch basin and strainer basket for outlet connection and solids management. .http://info.slotdrainsystems.com/slot-drain-install-video
Having a drain in an sqf certified facility
What is SQF?
SQF stands for Safe Quality Food and is a Food Safety Management Certification Scheme, created and managed by SQF Institute.
Its requirements provide a rigorous system to manage food safety risks and provide safe products for use by companies in the food industry.
It is a GFSI-recognized food safety certification. This allows your customers to have confidence in your food safety program and know that you have a rigorous food safety system in place.
What are the Benefits of Being SQF Certified?
Managing Risk
Building an SQF System will provide your company with effective management of food safety hazards by creating an environment capable of producing a safe product and a management system to continually manage, monitor, validate, and improve the system.
Maintain Current Customers
More and more companies are asking their suppliers to achieve certification. Chances are that if you have not been asked yet, you will be asked in the near future. Achieving certification can help you stay competitive.
Increase your Market Reach
Large retailers and multinational manufacturers or processors are also demanding certification of their suppliers. Having SQF Certification means you are qualified to supply these organizations or their suppliers, opening up a large market for your products.
Prepare for New Regulations
Countries across the globe are making changes to food safety regulations, including the United States and its Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). SQF prepares your organization to meet FSMA requirements.
Slot Drain Systems meet SQF standards. Our drains are installed in SQF-certified plants across North America.
Examples of SQF Certified Facilities that have Slot Drain Installed Include:
- Dole
- Idahonan Foods
- Quaker Maid Meats
- Sungold Foods
- Tolleson Dairy
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR DRAINS MEET SQF STANDARDS
In the Floors, Drains, and Water Traps section of the SQF code lists the following:
-Floors shall be constructed of smooth, dense, impact-resistant material that can be effectively graded, drained, impervious to liquid and easily cleaned.
-Floors shall be sloped to floor drains at gradients suitable to allow the effective removal of all overflow or wastewater under normal working conditions
-Drains shall be constructed and located so they can be easily cleaned and not present a hazard
-Waste trap system shall be located away from any food handling area or entrance to the premises.
This means that floors, drains and water traps need to be designed and constructed to minimize the risk to product or process safety. Drains need to be easily accessible for cleaning. Grates need to be removable for access and cleaning. These practices must be demonstrated by the supplier to assess the risks to products and to control those identified food safety risks.
Floors have to be provided with proper drainage. Drains need to be positioned and constructed to allow the effective removal of overflow or waste water under normal working conditions. Where drainage and gradients are not ideal, a written SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) shall address the timely and effective removal of waste water to a drain.
In the SQF code Auditing Guidance, there are two important points regarding drains.
-Drain locations do not pose a safety risk
-Drain construction does not pose a safety risk
Other sections in the SQF code have the following policies regarding drains
-Sanitary drainage shall not be connected to any other drains within the premises and shall be directed to a septic tank or a sewerage system. In other words, you need your sanitary drainage separated from your process facility drains
-Discharges from defrost and condensate lines shall be controlled and discharged to the drainage system. Condensation from cooling equipment must be piped to the plant drainage system or to the exterior of the building in a manner which does not create pools or standing water. When defrosting refrigeration units in a processing area, it is necessary that the timing of the defrosting be such that it does not pose a threat to the sanitary conditions of the area or product.
Having Drains that meet the NSF/ANSI/3-A Standard for Food Processing Equipment
When considering drains to install in an F&B facility, you need to make sure that they meet all your hygiene requirements. The best way to make sure you meet those requirements is to follow the NSF/ANSI/3-A standard for food processing equipment.
The NSF/ANSI/3-A standards are the regulations and guidelines for food protection and sanitation requirements for the materials, design, fabrication, and construction of meat, poultry, fruit, vegetable, and other types of sanitary processing equipment. Operator safety requirements are not included in this agreement. It applies to the equipment intended for use in the slaughter, processing, and packaging of meat and poultry products, excluding hand-held tools and mechanical belt conveyors. These requirements need to be applied by designers and manufacturers who then provide guidance to the end-user.
What materials need to be used?
In order for drains to meet the NSF standard, the materials that make up the drain need to be durable, cleanable, and capable of being sanitized without breaking, cracking, chipping, flaking, delamination, erosion, corrosion, or abrasion. They must also be resistant to the penetration of unwanted matter under intended use.
Drains used in the slaughter, processing, and packaging of meat and poultry products need to be constructed of materials that will withstand the humid operating environment, high pressure, and cleaning the drains with hot water and chemicals. Essentially being temperature resistant to processing and heat treatments when necessary. Other examples of this would include being able to handle freezing and heat sterilization.
Materials for the drain also need to be non-toxic, have no adverse effect on the product, and be non-absorbent except where technically or functionally unavoidable.
Stainless steel meets all of these standards
Unacceptable materials for food processing equipment include the following:
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Materials containing antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, or mercury
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Materials classified as hazardous substances(such as carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens)
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Wood
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-Porcelain
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-Uncoated aluminum and aluminum alloys
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-Uncoated anodized aluminum and aluminum alloys
Further Considerations
Hygienic drainage inside a modern food and beverage plant is necessary. Just as important as the drains you choose is the layout used. Layouts should follow packaging and process flows to minimize risk while maximizing efficiency.
Hygienic drains need to be properly installed to perform to expectations. If a drain is not properly installed, it is more likely to suffer from problems and, in extreme cases, even failure.
Our drainage design experts can guide you through the process of selecting drainage, creating a functional layout, and even connecting you with installation professionals in your area. Get in touch with us to discover the hygienic drainage options available to you.
