Kettle modifications to enhance operator and food safety in your process

Safety, quality and production are every food processor’s major goals, but the most important of these is safety. Without safety — both for your plant’s production team, and for the consumers who use your company’s food products — there is little point to achieving quality and production goals. When compared to the downside consequences of unsafe equipment operations or the even greater liability risk of defective products, there’s no question that safety must be a key consideration when expanding your operation.

That’s why nearly every food processing company makes safety the most important part of every aspect of their operations, and why you must carefully consider the range of safety features available when specifying and configuring your new kettle.

Your first safety consideration is for your production team. Consider the ergonomics of your process and its impact on operator safety during every batch process:

How heavy are the loads for the individual ingredients in your batch? How high must they be lifted by operators? Often, power-assisted loaders and automatic fillers are used to prevent fatigue and injury to operators when loading batch ingredients.

Another important point to consider is the number of times your plant operators must open and close the kettle lid during a typical batch process, and what operations they need to perform during these steps. Important equipment features are available to prevent operator accidents and injuries when operators must open the kettle lid during a batch process while the kettle mixer or agitator is in motion:

A spring/air-operated cover lift assist allows for easy opening and closing of heavy kettle lids to enable operators to access the batch before, during or after processing; and, this feature also prevents operator injuries from the kettle lid falling back down unexpectedly onto the top of the kettle.

A grate positioned under the cover allows for visual inspection of the batch during the mixing and cooking process, and also allow operators to safely add ingredients to the batch while the agitator is operating. Openings on grates can be custom sized to allow only ingredients to pass through the grate, but prevent hands and arms from entering the kettle.

Motor cutoff safety switches automatically turn the agitator motor off if the cover or grate is lifted from the top of the kettle. This should be added to the kettle specification to prevent injuries during operation

A variable frequency drive (VFD) can also be specified for use with the kettle motor, featuring an automatic cutoff that is activated when obstructions or heavy motor loads cause amperage spikes in the motor

During the cooking process, the outside of the kettle jacket can become extremely hot for operators working around the vessel. Many kettles feature jacket insulation, which reduces the outside temperature of the kettle to a safe level, and significantly reduces burn risk to operators. By reducing heat loss, jacket insulation also improves cooking efficiency and reduces the ambient room temperature on the plant floor.

Extension handles can be installed on sanitary ball valves to prevent operators from having to bend down or move underneath the kettle to discharge the kettle at the end of the process. Pneumatically actuated sanitary ball valves can also be used to provide for remote valve operation and even greater safety.

Assuring a product which is always both sanitary and free of contaminants is another critically important goal of a safe food process. Focus closely on these safety features when you are involved in the design and configuration stages of your next kettle purchase:

Important design features and fabrication techniques can be integrated into new kettles to optimize the use of CIP systems. For example, higher-grade surface finishes can be used on the internal areas and all other food contact surfaces of the vessel to increase CIP cleaning efficiency. Also, weld joints, seams and other food contact surfaces that are welded, ground and polished will create smooth, sanitary and easily cleanable surfaces.

Several design features can eliminate the risk of water collection on the outside of the kettle:

Channel risers can be used to slope the channel bridge on the kettle’s top motor mount to move water away from the top of the vessel.

Kettle covers can be sloped to allow water or other fluids to run off the top of the cover.

Kettle legs and support hardware can be made from round stock instead of flat bars to prevent water collection.

Scraper blades, impregnated with stainless steel powder, can also be used to enable visibility on pipeline metal detection systems, to prevent foreign object contamination of food products during processing.

To learn more about what to consider when expanding your operation, including kettle design and configuration to optimize safety, quality and production, download the Guide to Expanding Your Operation.