Pasteurisation has widespread use throughout the foodstuffs industries, both for the food stuffs themselves but also for the containers such as bottles. The conditions of pasteurisation (hot and moist) can mean that pasteurisers often provide perfect conditions for microbial growth, meaning that foodstuffs can be readily contaminated with potentially dangerous pathogens. This is overcome by disinfection. The process of disinfection is usually carried out using chlorine or bromine. It is important to maintain an effective but safe level of these chemicals. Monitoring and controlling the concentration of these chemicals and related disinfectants is important to maintain a sterile environment without using excessive chemicals. Pi has developed a range of analyzers equipped with the latest sensor technology that are able to monitor and control disinfectant concentration, and provide controlled chemical dosing – these are the CRONOS, CRIUS and CRATOS HaloSense.
The Importance of Control During Pasteurisation
The usual method of disinfection uses either chlorine or bromine (bromine is usually produced by reacting sodium bromide with chlorine). When dissolved in water, chlorine and bromine react to give hypochlorous and hypobromous acids. These are both potent disinfectants and are the major species involved in the destruction of the micro-organisms. These substances exist in the water in concentrations, which depend largely on pH (acidity). This can make regulating concentrations difficult. Overdosing can occur, which can cause safety concerns to both workers and consumers, and can ruin the taste of foodstuffs. Fortunately, Pi’s HaloSense technology allows accurate and precise measurement and control of hypochlorous and hypobromous acid levels in varying pH environments.
Due to the nature of the foodstuffs that undergo pasteurisation, deposits are often left behind. These can negatively affect the accuracy of sensors and monitoring equipment. Pi have developed the Autoflush system to tackle this problem. This automatically cleans the monitoring sensors, eliminating delays due to manual cleaning. Pi has developed specific firmware for the use of an Autoflush system in a pasteuriser application, meaning that only a signal from the pasteuriser itself is needed to control the Autoflush and that only simple, infrequent maintenance is required. Maintenance time can be further reduced by the installation of a remote access system, a capability unique to Pi systems. This enables readings and information generated by the analyser on site to be accessed anywhere in the world, so adjustments can be made and problems can be resolved much more quickly, without a costly site visit.