Hygiene mandates in poultry processing facilities continue to be a critical focus of processors and regulators, yet some companies still cling to less-than-effective methods of washing and sanitizing containers used in the process stream.

In hand washing operations, including power spraying, there is much room for human error. Workers may not achieve the water temperature required to properly sanitize containers. Even after hand washing, food remnants and cleaning agent residue can remain in the seams and corners of containers put back into use.

By automating the washing process, however, poultry processors are assured a complete cleaning and sanitizing of containers every time.

DG Foods (Hazlehurst, MS) recently established a new poultry processing facility in Bastrop, LA, to serve customers in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and others located west of the Mississippi-headquartered plant.

The new operation, which processes thousands of pounds of chicken each day, required an automated washer that could clean and sanitize the totes and lids used to transfer chicken from the slaughtering facility to the new processing plant.

“We needed an automated washing system to recycle the totes as part of our continuous processing operation,” says Bill Bryant, general manager of the Bastrop plant. “Without it, we would be unable to re-use them in the processing operation.”

After researching suppliers, Bryant’s team contacted CM Process Solutions (Corona, CA), a nationwide supplier of stainless steel hygiene equipment, including commercial and industrial washing systems, for the food processing industry.

CM Process Solutions’ commercial and industrial washing machines are available in a batch or a continuous design, with speeds ranging from 200 to several thousand containers per hour.

“They did a very good job in recommending and configuring the system we eventually purchased,” says Bryant. “It was exactly what we needed at a competitive price.”

For more information, contact CM Process Solutions, 1269 Pomona Road, Corona, CA 92882; Phone: 951.808.4376; Fax: 951.808.8657; Email: sales@cmpsolutions.net or visit www.cmpsolutions.net.