Article: Hygienic Flooring Options for the Food Industry

The food industry represents one of the most technically challenging sectors for floor specification professionals and relies heavily on the correct choice of flooring materials to deliver a clean, safe and sanitary environment that meets a wide range of critical health and safety requirements.

There are a number of factors that clients in the food and beverage industries must consider when selecting a new floor finish. Floors in food manufacturing or food preparation premises must be able to be cleaned effectively and thoroughly, must not absorb grease, food substances or water, harbour pests or bacteria, and should be laid to a safe design so as not to cause the pooling of water.

Different grades of flooring are needed for the different areas found within the food environment. For example, production areas often need a hard-wearing, chemical resistant floor finish, which is able to stand up to heavy machinery and general wear and tear.

Sensitive wet and dry processing areas need floors that deliver the ultimate in hygiene performance. In these environments, steam cleanable products are often sought. For sensitive areas, such as tray washrooms, antimicrobial floors are often chosen.

It is imperative that all flooring surfaces across the food manufacturing facility, including staff breakout areas and amenities, have a non-slip surface, so as to prevent slips and trips.

Specialist resin flooring solutions that deliver benefits such as an enhanced hygiene performance or greater durability than competitive products have been on the market for a number of years, but they are being joined by new innovations to make them more effective than ever before in large-scale industrial settings.

Resin innovations include the Flowfresh polyurethane flooring range from Flowcrete Australia.

Not only does the Flowfresh range offer clients an enhanced hygiene performance resulting from a seamless installation combined with the material’s excellent durability and resistance, but additionally Flowfresh offers a further innovation to make the completed floor finish more effective than ever before.

Containing a powerful thermosetting amino compound, which is incorporated within the polyurethane resin matrix of the flooring material, the Flowfresh system has been designed to offer clients complete surface protection against harmful bacteria, mould and yeasts.

The technology can positively inhibit the growth of both gram positive and gram negative bacteria including E-coli, MRSA, C.dificile and Salmonella typhi amongst others, with international studies showing a 99.9% reduction in the bacterial population of a typical floor.

This protection remains active for the lifetime of the floor, even if worn or damaged, offering clients’ peace of mind in terms of hygiene.

The installation of Flowfresh systems should be undertaken by appropriately qualified tradespersons to ensure proper adherence to the substrate, and adequate sealing of joints to maintain an impervious surface.

The material should be cleaned and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions in order to maintain slip-resistance and any other added-value properties.

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