One of the most impactive applications for Electropolished parts is improving Food Safety on industrial food processing equipment. This is accomplished by improving the corrosion resistance and improving the surface finish for all of the parts associated with industrial food processing equipment that have direct or incidental contact with a wide variety of foods. Although electropolished components on food equipment is most important for products that are considered “ready to eat” (i.e. cooked sausages, cheese sticks, vegetables, luncheon meat, etc.), it is clear that this surface finishing process makes all stainless steel parts on any piece of food processing equipment an ally for food safety.
On an industrial scale, different types of food are processed in the hundreds of pounds per day each and every day in order to satisfy the worlds need for food. Many consumers do not think twice about how different foods were prepared, packaged, and presented to them in their local grocery store prior to ending up on their table. They have come to expect not only the availability of certain foods on the shelves of “the store,” but they have also become accustomed to the food safety aspect of the foods they purchase. If it is packaged or wrapped it has to be safe, right?
Industrial food equipment manufacturers take pain staking actions and spend large amounts of time mulling over different ways to design and formulate equipment to perform various tasks in order to automate the production of food. Through this process, they also take into consideration the finishes of the entire machine and surface contact points the food comes into contact with as it makes its way through the machine. A reduction of surface area, the elimination of parts all together, and the best surface finish possible for the part in question crosses the mind of thousands of equipment design engineers each and every day. Electropolishing has become one of the best solutions for supporting their food safety goals.
The Process
The electropolishing process for stainless steel parts can achieve a reduction in surface finish “peaks and valleys” that provide the food safety capabilities of these commercial and industrial food processing equipment parts. In other words, Electropolishing helps make microscopic mountains into microscopic mole hills and this helps manage the collection or harboring of harmful microorganisms.
When the peaks and valleys are reduced on the surface of a part, it is hard for microorganisms to collect on that surface of that part. Electropolishing achieves this reduction of the micro high spots through the process known as anodic levelling that deburrs metal objects on corners and burrs at all levels. Major metal burrs can be reduced, and micro sized corners eliminated by this process.
Successful electropolishing operates under a constant current, a consistent temperature range, and stirring conditions.
This surface finishing process removes embedded particles and inclusions from the contact surface of stainless parts as well, meaning, elemental iron is removed leaving the surface with higher relative concentration of chromium and a reduced level of microscopic pockets/nitches/crevices for microorganisms to hide!
