6 Elements of Food Grade Flooring
Food and beverage flooring often requires special considerations due to ever-evolving federal food safety regulations. That’s why it’s important to hire a flooring installer that not only has heavy-duty flooring expertise but also understands the complexities of food safety.
Here are six key elements that comprise “food grade” flooring and how they contribute to a cleaner and safer food and beverage environment.
- Slip-resistant texturing to prevent falls
- Antimicrobial additives to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria
- Durability to withstand rigorous cleaning, extreme temperatures, and heavy equipment traffic
- Sloped drains to prevent standing water
- Materials that are non-toxic, food-safe, and low-odor
- USDA, FDA, and HACCP compliant
Food and beverage flooring projects
Not all food and beverage flooring projects are exactly alike, and since we’ve completed hundreds of them, we understand that the needs of a food processing plant are different than the needs of a bakery, meat processor, brewery, and so on. Let’s look at the various issues each one must address.
Bakeries
We installed Flow Resin Flowfresh in the fondant processing room of this Kentucky bakery facility. This particular formula is known for its ability to resist the corrosive effects of sugar, and it also contains Polygiene, which is an antibacterial additive that provides essential protection against dangerous bacteria.
Fruit and vegetable processing
Flooring in fruit, vegetable, and sauce production facilities is also subject to corrosion from acids, sugars, and food preservatives. In this Kentucky sauce maker’s facility, we installed a trench drain, urethane concrete flooring, and a cant cove to form a seamless seal around the perimeter of the room.
Freezers and cold storage
Surface Solutions developed the Flowfresh Flowfill Matrix in partnership with Flow Resin. It’s a USDA-compliant formula designed to withstand the rapid deep freeze and thaw cycles of a blast freezer system, and it can be installed quickly in a low-temperature environment to reduce downtime. We install this for clients with blast freezers and other cold storage facilities, including this Indiana meat processor.
Dairy Processing
In this dairy processing facility, we installed a textured slip-resistant coating of Ucrete SR for the floors and Ucrete RG for the walls and ensured the environment adhered to HACCP guidelines.
Meat Processing
For this Indiana meat processor, we installed Ucrete RG to provide a seamless and watertight transition from floor to wall and Ucrete IF, designed to withstand the heavy loads and abrasion of steel-wheeled equipment traffic.
Breweries
Wet floors and improper drainage are among the most common hazards in a brewing environment, and this Springboro, Ohio brewery needed sloped flooring in the production room to allow proper drainage. We also installed Ucrete HF, ideal for food and beverage and chemical processing environments where resistance to chemicals and moisture is essential.
No matter what type of food or beverage facility you oversee, Surface Solutions can provide a custom flooring solution designed to meet your specific needs and regulations. Surface Solutions has decades of experience installing commercial and industrial food grade flooring for manufacturing and food processing facilities across the country. Take a look at our work and contact us using the form below to tell us about your facility.