Floors get a fighting chance - includes related article

Prepared Foods, April, 1995 by Steve Berne

Below your feet lies a highly sophisticated world of epoxy coatings, anti-microbial agents and laser beams. Does your floor have what it takes to survive?

Take a moment to consider the floors in your production facility. In most plants, cracks, chips, dirt and mold are common sights. They are considered normal wear and tear in an environment of food preparation, machine and conveyor vibration, high heat, temperature fluctuations and heavy foot/forklift traffic.

Unless the floor is new or recently was covered with an epoxy coating, it is often a forgotten entity, relied on for support but neglected. For some companies, however, flooring is high on the agenda.

Cleanability, wear and slip resistance are the three big concerns to food plants when discussing flooring. Suppliers offer an abundance of flooring systems and epoxy coatings to support these concerns.

Among the newest epoxy resins to impact the food industry is Novolac. Its attributes include higher temperature resistance, withstanding temperatures to 220 [degrees] F, making it effective in steam-cleaned areas. Also, citric, hydrochloric, lactic, nitric (up to 30% concentration) and sulphuric acids, as well as several chemical solvents, will not adversely affect this 100% solids epoxy coating.

CONSTRUCTION

Major problem areas in floor construction are cracks and wall/floor junctures. They harbor bacterial and dirt contamination, insect infestation, and are a growing hazard for product, personnel and machines. Once a crack or space forms, time and effort must be put into proper repair, which most of the time is not done, due to other plant priorities.

"Cracks and junctures are very common problems in food plants and ones we look at as high potential for sanitary problems," says Ralph Thompson, Facilities Branch Chief with the FSIS/USDA. "We look for 'coved' edges for good cleanability, as well as lack of hollow spots or dead ends in floor layout."

Thompson suggests caution and a lot of research before deciding on an appropriate coating. "The VOC (volatile organic compounds) content of epoxies can be extremely important depending on the location of the application. We've seen several instances where VOCs have seeped into packaging and packaged products affecting the quality of the products, often causing products to be put on hold or dumped."

Concrete technology has seen several innovations in the last few years. Post-tensioning techniques using wire cables to "squeeze" individual concrete slabs together have virtually eliminated joints and cracks in floors as large as 220,000 sq. ft.

Shrinkage compensating concrete (SCC) is made with a special cement that causes a volume increase in the concrete after setting. If properly designed and constructed, the SCC expands as it cures, stretching the reinforcing steel. As the SCC finally shrinks, the tensioned reinforcing acts like a stretched rubber band to keep the SCC in compression while it shrinks. The main advantages of using SCC in slabs are being able to increase spacing between joints and reduce curling of the slab panel edges.

A few words of caution for food processors: Acquire as much information from suppliers as possible. Ask for lists of their customers who have similar applications and ask them about their experiences and problems. Keep in mind future downtime problems and costs before deciding on the least expensive solution.

RELATED ARTICLE: ANTIMICROBIAL COOL-OFF

A hot issue last year was "antimicrobial" flooring systems: biocidal or biostatic chemicals added to the coating to provide protection against propagation of microbial growth. Affected microbes include common strains of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Salmonella, E. Coli and others responsible for foodborne illnesses. However, usage of biocidal (microorganism-killing) compounds have found very limited applications due to FDA/USDA concerns and directives to prevent direct cross-contamination in storage and preparation areas.

Other reasons for the lack of widespread acceptance of antimicrobial floors are the added cost, as much as 20-30% more than floors without such additives, and the question of whether the benefits justify that cost.