Storing and transporting food products requires packaging which has been manufactured to the same strict hygiene standards as the products themselves and which is of sufficient integrity to protect the product from the environment. The use of a food contact-safe polymer is not enough; these materials need to be converted into the finished article in segregated clean rooms which maintain the highest hygiene standards. Clean rooms feature some of the following non-exhaustive list of additional measures:
- Extra personal hygiene measures and PPE.
- HEPA filters in the HVAC systems.
- Ultrasonic cutting machines.
- Sewing machines with vacuum systems to capture loose threads.
- Air washing to ensure the finished article is contamination-free.
- Floor grills to ensure no materials come into contact with the floor.
- Metal detection and light tables to ensure finished products are free from foreign bodies.
Bulk bags remain a very labour-intensive item to produce, so ensuring they are manufactured under controlled conditions is essential to maintaining a contamination-free product.
Varying Protection For Different Food Products
Some food products require additional protection, which can be provided through the addition of an internal liner. If additional barriers to nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide or aroma are required, these liners can be coextruded with materials such as polyamide (PA), ethyl vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and aluminium. These liners are manufactured under semi-automated production.
Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has a benchmarking system under which several food safety management programmes are recognised: FSSC 22000 and BRCGS (previously BRC) are two standards which our products are produced to.
When purchasing food grade bulk bags, it is important to understand the requirements of the programme it has been produced under. At Cliffe Packaging, all our bulk bags are produced under a GFSI-recognised certificate, ensuring that the packaging is accepted as food safe everywhere, no matter where you export to.
Benefits Of A Food Grade Bulk Bag
Food grade bulk bags ensure that your food products remain contamination-free and to the same standards to which they left the production line. Whilst providing protection from the external elements, the bags are produced in a way to ensure that contamination from manufacturing processes is eliminated.
All our food grade bulk bags have full traceability, meaning that the entire production process can be traced back to the raw materials. Using food grade bulk bags manufactured to the highest of standards reduces the costs of failure.
If you need contamination-free, food grade bulk bags manufactured to the highest food safety standards, then contact us today.
