Ovens
Ovens are used throughout various sectors of the food industry for cooking and roasting products prior to chilling/freezing and packing. Ovens can be long single chain ovens through to large spiral ovens or smaller rack loading ovens, which are typically used for meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and baked foods.
Fryers
Fat fryers are used throughout various sectors of the food industry for the frying or cooking of products prior to chilling/freezing and packing. Fryers are typically used for coated food items such as breaded products, burgers, frozen chips, crisps or doughnuts.
Fryer Detergents
The nature of the soiling encountered in fat fryers is high in fat and polymerised and carbonised oils. This requires the use of a caustic based detergent for the boil out stage and also a caustic gel or foam for the above boil out level surfaces. The caustic will generally be used at about 1%-3%v/v and used at a high temperature for a set period of time.
The use of sunflower oils in fryers causes additional cleaning problems with the oil readily polymerising to form gelatinous soils. These soils are best tackled with specific detergents.
Oven Detergents
Similar to fryers, the nature of soiling encountered will be high fat and polymerised and carbonised oils. More often than not, there may be a high level of carbon build up within these ovens that will need a a signficant amount of pre-rinsing and debris removal prior to detergent application. Boil out detergents will be high caustic in nature with application ranges from 2-4% v/v depending on the level of soiling present. There may be times where caustic can be added through a CIP system to assist in the cleaning process. A caustic based foam or gel may also be required for external and internal surfaces to assist in the removal of soiling.
Dosing & Application Equipment
The dosing of detergents into fryers and ovens is best carried out with designated systems as they require a signifcant amount of caustic to be dosed into them. Ideally, these types of products should not be manually decanted.
Numerous options are available for pumping the caustic detergent into the fryer, although if large volumes are required then dedicated decant trolleys or a diaphragm air pump can be utilised. A Dema Foam Unit is a good choice for the application of caustic foam detergent to internal and external surfaces of the fat fryer/oven as this gives a good and even coverage to the areas that require detergent.
Special Precautions
Along with other cleaning activities, ensure that the PPE worn is appropriate for the task as well as to the hazard of the chemical. As a guidance, operatives conducting the cleaning of fat fryers and ovens with aggressive chemicals should be wearing as a minimum:
Eye protection
Helmet fitted with a visor
Suitable gauntlets or gloves
Wetsuit
Wellington boots.
