How to Select the Right Flooring for Food & Beverage Operations
The food and beverage manufacturing and distribution industries in the U.S. are known for high quality and safety standards. USDA-regulated food manufacturers are required to follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), and many have food safety plans that include a hazards analysis and risk-based preventive controls.
Industrial epoxy flooring can increase safety, reduce maintenance, protect sensitive equipment, and provide the long-term durability you require to maximize production. But what aspects are ideal for food and beverage processing?
Following is a series of recommendations that food and beverage operations should consider when reviewing their existing flooring, upgrading aging plants, or designing new facilities.
Is it Time to Upgrade Your Food and Beverage Flooring?
Worn or cracked flooring can harbor bacteria. Your facility management team should perform a thorough inspection of your food or beverage processing operation to ensure it meets FDA and USDA standards. Many facilities are implementing a more frequent cleaning regimen using more potent concentrations of sanitizing solutions. Are the floors properly sloped throughout your plant to allow for easy wash-downs? Even non-manufacturing areas in a food plant should be inspected, such as break rooms, washrooms, etc. Since the introduction of COVID-19, guidelines have called for more frequent hand washing for all employees, so those rooms should also have upgraded flooring that is easily cleaned and antimicrobial.
If there is any degradation in the existing flooring – whether through foot traffic, temperature extremes, periodic cleaning, machinery vibrations, etc. – then now is the time to schedule a review by an industrial food factory flooring professional. Surface Technology, Inc. provides a free site visit to determine the parameters for your project, including square footage, substrate condition, and any external environmental constraints.
Find out more about our flooring evaluation and installation process here.
Types of Floor Coating Systems for Food Processing Plants
When it comes to food processing, maintaining a hygienic facility is paramount. You need durable, high-performance food-grade flooring that can stand up to the rigors of frequent cleaning, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures, high foot traffic, and much more. You also want flooring that discourages bacterial growth and provides a safe, non-slip surface to keep employees safe.
There are many different types of flooring solutions out there, and each one has its benefits and drawbacks. Some of the most popular floor coatings for food and beverage processing facilities include epoxy, urethane cement, or a mix of the two.
Resin floor coatings are commonly used in the food & beverage industry because they can mitigate bacteria growth, are easily cleanable, are durable, and can be visually customized to the needs of the space. Different systems can include characteristics such as impact resistance, abrasion resistance, thermal shock resistance, chemical resistance, and slip resistance.
Seamless Epoxy Flooring
Your floor is the largest single surface in your facility. It has the most significant exposure to microbial contamination of any part of your operation – tracked in by staff and visitors, on the wheels of carts and tow motors, by rodents or insects crawling through small cracks in your doors, or blown in by the wind through open loading dock bays. A healthy building must address air-, water-, and fluid-borne sources of contamination, as well as those which can spread through physical contact.
Professionally installed seamless epoxy flooring systems can create a solid barrier between the flooring substrate and bacteria that can grow in its crevices. Seamless resin flooring is especially effective on over porous concrete floors.
Antimicrobial Epoxy Flooring
Antimicrobial epoxy flooring from Surface Technology, Inc. provides the highest-possible contamination-fighting properties not only across the surface of your floor but throughout the epoxy resin material used to make it, giving you the additional anti-pathogen safeguards you need inside and out. Flooring systems can be installed with an integral cove base which can be seamlessly transitioned to the wall system.
Here is a list of some of the microorganisms controlled by our antimicrobial components in our seamless, antimicrobial flooring systems:
Fungi
- Aureobasidium pullulans (Black Yeast)
- Aspergillus flavus (causes mold on stored grains)
- Aspergillus niger (Black Mold)
- Aspergillus terreus (a fungal pathogen)
- Penicillium pinophilum (a food contaminate)
- Rhizopus nigricans (Bread Mold)
Yeasts
- Candida pelliculosa (causes yeast infections)
Bacteria
- Aerobacter aerogenes (produces gas that sours milk)
- Bacillus subtilis (Hay Bacillus)
- Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (a cause of gastrointestinal disorder)
- Escherichia coli (E. coli)
- Klebsiella pneumoniae (produces lung pathology)
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (an opportunistic human pathogen)
- Salmonella typhosa (Salmonella)
- Staphlococcus aureus (Staph)
Actinomycetes
- Streptoverticillium reticulum (Pink Stain)
Download our guide, Tips on Selecting the Right Flooring System for Food & Beverage Operations, for even more ways to get the best epoxy flooring system for your food facility.
Food & Beverage Flooring Installation
Installation is the most critical aspect of your epoxy flooring system. If something goes wrong during the install—if the floor isn’t properly prepped, if mixes aren’t correct, or if the coatings are not properly allowed to cure between coats—your floor and its longevity will be compromised.
Proper preparation is essential to a successful food processing floor installation. That’s why we take the time to clean and prepare the surface first. This includes patching any holes or cracks and making any needed repairs. We also test for the presence of moisture or other contaminants and correct any issues before the new flooring is applied.
Surface Technology Has Over 35 Years of Industrial Flooring Experience
When it comes to flooring, it’s important to ensure that the people you are working with are highly experienced and respected in the flooring industry. Surface Technology is a licensed, deadline-focused, national epoxy resin flooring contractor, providing industrial flooring, coating, and lining systems to companies in the food and beverage industry.
Surface Technology is the expert industrial epoxy flooring contractor for beverage processing, meat processing, fish processing, dairy processing, as well as bakery, winery, and brewery flooring. High-profile companies rely on our team of professional installers to protect, restore, and enhance their facilities’ most critical workspaces.
Get in Touch
We know you’re busy. We’re here to get you the information you need as quickly as possible. Whether you just want a quick estimation on your project specifications or want to talk to an expert about your project, we are here to help you.
