Resin Flooring and the Importance of Safety in a Food Processing Facility
Food safety has never been more critical to consumer confidence in a brand. The reputational risk of contamination and resulting financial loss can be so great, that best hygienic practices must be factored into the design of a food or beverage facility from the earliest planning stage.
Make sure your floor and your business are protected.
The floor in a food processing facility is subject to all sorts of food by-products, including fats, hot oils, blood, sugar solutions and natural food acids. Such corrosive substances can cause substantial damage to an uncoated concrete floor. Perhaps worse, these substances can infiltrate the concrete and result in microbial growth and the spread of bacteria, which in addition to accelerating floor damage, could cause contamination.
While proper cleaning and maintenance may seem like a preventative solution, these processes too could significantly damage an uncoated concrete surface.
Steam cleaning and hot water washdowns put undue stress on a concrete slab. Power washing over time eats away at the surface and exposes the concrete’s weakness. Aggressive cleaning chemicals corrode unprotected concrete and make it more porous. The more porous it becomes, the more susceptible it is to bacterial penetration.
Resin flooring systems — seamless and superior.
That’s why for any environment in which food and beverage products are produced, processed, packaged, or stored, it’s vital that an exposed concrete slab is covered with a high-performance flooring system. What makes resin-based surfaces an increasingly popular solution is that it creates a seamless floor. No cracks or joints means that the bacteria can’t penetrate. It is also being chosen because of its hygienic profile and hardwearing performance characteristics.
What Resin Flooring Options are Available?
Different operating conditions require different flooring systems. Resin flooring systems can be customized to meet the needs of different working areas within a food or beverage plant. Some of the more popular options include:
Cementitious Urethane
Combining cement and water-based urethane technologies, Cementitious Urethane comes in a mortar form that exhibits a high cross-linked density, making it ideal for abusive environments subject to prolonged chemical attack.
Urethane resin systems exhibit a thermal co-efficient of expansion, which is similar to that of concrete. When installed directly over concrete in environments subject to thermal shock and thermal cycling, it prevents the material from cracking due to large temperature swings.
Cementitious urethane flooring solutions are also non-porous, making them excellent at preventing bacteria and mold spores from surviving in joints or cracks. They are low odor, non-toxic, and non-hazardous.
Epoxy Coatings or Epoxy Mortars
Epoxies are typically trowel or roller-applied, two or three-component systems that are available in a wide variety of colors. Epoxies can also be broadcast with aggregates to deliver a slip-resistant finish.
Epoxies offer limited resistance to organic acids, which are found in a large number of natural foodstuffs. However, epoxies offer no resistance to thermal shock making them more susceptible to cracking and de-bonding in more rigorous food and beverage environments.
Epoxy resin surfaces are a good choice for non-processing zones in a food manufacturing facility which are not subject to the same high protection demands, such as packaging, maintenance and staff break-out areas, corridors, lobbies and office spaces.
Methyl Methacrylate (MMA)
A Methyl methacrylate (MMA) system offers two major advantages over alternative resin materials. It can fully cure at the incredible speed of one to two hours, and it can and be installed at extremely low temperatures. MMA resin is ideal for operational facilities looking to minimize downtime and disruption.
It’s also highly resistant to UV light and a range of acids and alkalis. Its unique odor is harmless and can be minimized during installation with proper ventilation.
Duraamen Industrial and Polished Concrete Flooring Products are designed to provide labor-saving and long-lasting flooring solutions. Talk to an expert about your flooring challenges…Please Call + 973 230 1301 / eMail Us
