Food Processing Electrical Requirements/Best Practices

[ThomasMartin]

May anyone know of any source to nudge me in the right direction for electrical requirements for food processing facilities? Specifically it is a dairy facility. There are no animals, it is all food process and laboratories that require food safe wash down rooms. NEC 501-510 have all requirements for hazardous conditions but NEC does not have any guidelines for food safety. Please and Thankyou!

 

[kwired]

May anyone know of any source to nudge me in the right direction for electrical requirements for food processing facilities? Specifically it is a dairy facility. There are no animals, it is all food process and laboratories that require food safe wash down rooms. NEC 501-510 have all requirements for hazardous conditions but NEC does not have any guidelines for food safety. Please and Thankyou!

You will have more issues from USDA, FDA, or other food safety inspectors then you will have with NEC.

You need to use corrosion resistant methods that can take a lot of washdown activity. Some cases not just daily washing but washing several times a day with mild spray and maybe high pressure spray on a less frequent basis. Detergents, sanitizers, etc. are very corrosive and will make non metallic components or stainless steel components become preferred as most anything else will rust and if that is not too much of a problem for electrical it usually is for the sanitary inspectors.

You can paint ferrous materials to prevent corrosion - but paint tends to flake off sooner or later and becomes a bigger problem for the sanitary inspectors then a light rust problem.