{"id":1144,"date":"2018-12-05T11:14:35","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T16:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/?p=1144"},"modified":"2022-06-06T18:08:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:08:34","slug":"bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/","title":{"rendered":"Bottom Injection: An Emerging Food Hygiene Consideration"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"m-entry__feedback\"><div class=\"m-feedback-prompt\">\n\t\t  <h4 class=\"m-feedback-prompt__header\">Was this article helpful?<\/h4>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__social m-feedback-prompt__social_thumbsup yes\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-up\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt_form no\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-down\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a><br>\n\t\t  <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__social yes\">\n\t\t    <p class=\"m-feedback-prompt__text\">Awesome, share it:<\/p>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon facebook fa fa-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon twitter fa fa-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/&text=Bottom Injection: An Emerging Food Hygiene Consideration\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon googleplus fa fa-google-plus\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Google Plus<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon linkedin fa fa-linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/&title=Bottom Injection: An Emerging Food Hygiene Consideration\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t  <\/div>\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__form no\">\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"thanks feedback-nodisplayall\"><h2>Thanks!<h2><div class=\"m-contact\"><p>Thanks for getting in touch with us.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t    <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"new_support_request\" action=\"\" accept-charset=\"UTF-8\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t    <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"659de24d36\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1144\" \/>\n\t\t      <input value=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\" id=\"currenturl\">\n\t\t      <input value=\"Bottom Injection: An Emerging Food Hygiene Consideration\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\" id=\"currenttitle\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Help us improve. Give us your feedback:<\/label>\n\t\t      <textarea class=\"p-input__textarea\" name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\"><\/textarea>\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your Full Name:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"feedbackfullname\" id=\"feedbackfullname\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your email address:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"mailinglistemail\" id=\"mailinglistemail\">\n\t\t      <div class=\"feedback-message\" id=\"feedback-message\"><\/div>\n\t\t      <div class=\"__submit\">\n\t\t        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" value=\"Submit\" class=\"p-button\" id=\"submit-contact-form\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n\t\t      <\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><h4><strong>Make sure to clean those hard-to-reach places like bottom-injection chilling nozzles\u2014inside and out<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re running a massive facility or just putzing around the kitchen at home, the same general food handling rules apply. Here\u2019s a simple example:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Momma\u2019s making meatballs in the kitchen. She puts ground meat, an egg, a splash of milk, some bread crumbs and a few seasonings in a bowl\u2014then she mixes it all together with her hands. She rolls the mixture into balls and lines them up in neat rows, one by one, on a well-oiled pan. And what does momma do next?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She washes her meaty hands, of course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seems pretty obvious, right? Anything that comes into contact with raw meat should be cleaned before it touches anything else. But if you\u2019re processing thousands of pounds of raw meat every day, the simple concept may be overpowered by a large-scale, complex process. More contact points mean more areas to keep clean\u2014especially those hard-to-reach places.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Food-chilling hygiene: What is at stake?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The food industry is no stranger to the importance of hygiene and what can happen when it\u2019s not maintained. The World Health Organization (WHO) <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/food-safety\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that every year \u201calmost 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die.\u201d And in 2017, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fsis.usda.gov\/wps\/portal\/fsis\/topics\/recalls-and-public-health-alerts\/recall-summaries\/recall-summaries-2017\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FSIS recalled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over 20 million pounds of meat products. With such serious consequences in the mix, industry-leading food manufacturers look closely at their processes to find any possible area where hygiene could be compromised. Still, one piece of equipment often evades them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Concerns about bottom-injection chilling nozzles<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consistent and efficient, bottom-injection chilling is among the most popular cooling methods currently used for industrial mixers. The design of some bottom-injection chilling nozzles, however, makes removal for regular inspection and cleaning difficult\u2014which is more problematic than many plant operators realize. The liquid cooling agent (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) is injected into the meat just fine, but, over time, meat often finds its way into the bottom-injection chilling nozzle as well. And it\u2019ll stay there, presenting a hygiene issue for every subsequent batch of meat that runs through the mixer.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Bottom-injection chilling nozzles: Out of sight, out of mind?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Bill Adams, Director of Food and Pharmaceuticals at Airgas, most plants clean the outer surface of their bottom-injection chilling nozzles, but may be unaware of how sanitary the nozzles may be inside if they don&#8217;t take them apart for cleaning every day. \u201cThey don\u2019t take it apart every day and they don\u2019t clean it every day,\u201d Adams laments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may not seem like a serious problem, but a bottom-injection chilling nozzle with retained meat contains microorganisms, which can contaminate the product in the mixer\u2014leading to the potential for a recall. And once the plant staff sees the residue in the nozzle for themselves, it\u2019s hard to ignore. Stephen Bilger, Airgas\u2019 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Director of Equipment Solutions, adds: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you don\u2019t know, you don\u2019t know. But it can\u2019t be unlearned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Food-freezing sanitation: A matter of principle<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2002, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) published <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 Principles of Sanitary Equipment Design<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (and released updated issues since). They cover everything from choosing the right materials to avoiding liquid collection. But at the heart of it all is making sure every piece of equipment is easily inspected and cleaned. So if your bottom injection nozzle is hard to inspect, you\u2019re not just failing to extract old meat from a cylinder. You risk going against nearly two decades of established industry best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one can be blamed for not addressing an issue they\u2019re not aware of\u2014but once you know, it\u2019s time to act. This is a no-brainer in an industry so dedicated to hygiene. Once aware of the meat in their nozzles, manufacturers always ask: What\u2019s the best way to address it?<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Less effective food chilling options<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could consider a different cooling option\u2014there\u2019s no shortage of alternatives\u2014but few methods are as consistent as nitrogen or carbon dioxide bottom injection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Snow horns? A waste of gas and a potential condensation risk. Ice? Inconsistent temperature control (plus it melts, leaving water behind). Frozen product to cool down fresh product? Unsustainable. Jacketed mixers with refrigerant cooling? Adds capital and complexity to mixer, and has limitations in temperature removal. All of these methods lead to variations in quality from batch to batch, potentially harming your product and your reputation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it&#8217;s well designed and easy to take apart, a bottom injection system is clearly the best choice. If you find your bottom-injection chilling nozzle is too hard to clean, talk to your gas supplier about hardware options. If they can\u2019t provide a simple, easy-to-clean solution, expand your search elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Clean your bottom-injection chilling nozzles<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve got an inspectable bottom-injection chilling nozzle in place, Adams and Bilger recommend taking a look as often as possible. For many facilities, that means after every shift. \u201cAfter the break in production, if there is an issue with nozzles or other equipment, they only need to recall one shift\u2019s worth of products,\u201d Adams suggests. \u201cIt limits the potential for a larger quality issue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Food chilling sanitation: Always improving<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Potential for contaminated bottom injection chilling nozzles is just one more thing to stay cognizant of moving forward. As the industry progresses and our benchmarks for sanitary practices evolve, leaders are always looking for new ways to improve product quality and consistency. Why not take a look inside the bottom-injection chilling nozzle? After all, when it comes to the success of your business, every little thing counts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Interested in food processing? Try this related <em>Airgas Thinks<\/em> article:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/big-chill-challenges-cost-effective-food-freezing\/\">The Big Chill: Challenges of Cost-Effective Food Freezing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- =============== --><br \/>\n<!-- HIDE AUTHOR BOX --><br \/>\n<!-- =============== --><\/p>\n<style>.social {border: none;}#author-info {display: none;}<\/style>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Was this article helpful? &nbsp; &nbsp; Awesome, share it: Share Tweet Google Plus LinkedIn Thanks!Thanks for getting in touch with &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/bottom-injection-nozzle-hygiene\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[24,1],"tags":[369],"yst_prominent_words":[1758,1752,1754,1753,1016,1757,1756,1755,1022,81,354,1760,1759,1019,642,1014,1012,994,1018,1015],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1144"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1144"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1144\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1144"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}