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Metal Matters: Safety in Food Processing

Eliminating the potential for catastrophic loss – such as that sustained by Cargill (see below) -- is one of the significant advantages metal conveyor belts hold over plastic. Stainless steel’s durable and sustainable nature also increases hygiene and food safety while decreasing time, cost and energy necessary to meet today’s stringent sanitation protocols.  In our four-part series “Metal Matters,” we’ll present four reasons metal conveyor belts are preferred for food processing.

Metal Matters: A Matter of Safety in Food Processing

Extinguishing Fire Hazards Posed by Plastic

A May 2014 article in Food Processing Magazine describes the devastating fire that destroyed Cargill’s $100 million Booneville Arkansas facility. The fire’s source: Plastic belting in a spiral conveyor. The result? The plant’s 800 employees lost their jobs and the 150,000-sq.-ft. plant remains shuttered today, more than six years after the fact.

"Spiral coolers that use a plastic conveyor belt as opposed to a metal one, create the greatest concern for a fast spreading fire because the belt itself presents a combustible fuel load." This cautionary note was sounded by Liberty Mutual Insurance in a risk management guide they issued for food processors on preventing plant fires.

Any plastic belting – whether injection molded or constructed of polyethylene or acetyl – is a petroleum-based and therefore flammable. Plastic is particularly susceptible to fires created from exposure to heat sources in or near the conveyor. Three plastics commonly used in conveyor belting are polypropylene, nylon and acetyl. The latter -- up to 40% more costly than nylon or polypropylene -- is very troubling for plant engineers because it burns ‘clear.’ Acetyl’s invisible, fast moving flames are also a carcinogen hazard.