Stainless steel in dairy production
Food production has to comply with many rules and requirements. Raw materials go through several processing stages and are held in dedicated equipment. Dairy products come into direct contact with metal. In dairy production, equipment made of food-grade stainless steel has a number of advantages.
It is:
- Hygienic
- Environmentally safe
- Non-toxic
- Non-oxidizing
With these qualities, stainless steel meets all the stringent quality requirements. When choosing equipment, consider the thickness of the internal surface, the alloy group, the microstructure and the service quality. Pay attention to the weld seam, which must not exceed 1.5 µm. Rough, protruding welds on the inside of pipes are not permitted: as milk flows through such a pipe, various deposits build up on it and become a breeding ground for pathogenic flora.
Examples of equipment made of food-grade stainless steel: the milk taxi for calf feeding, the milk powder reconstitution unit, the butter churn, the double-O cheese vat, and the vertical milk cooling tank.
Equipment requirements:
- No contact between dissimilar metals
- No sharp corners, crevices or hard-to-reach recesses
- No contact between stainless steel and any porous metal
- No acidic or neutral food media of any kind may be allowed to dry on the surfaces of stainless steel pipes
- Correct selection of disinfectants
Milberg equipment mentioned in this article
Milk taxi for calf feeding (milk shuttle)Calf feeding, pasteurization, milk replacer 
Powdered milk and juice reconstitution unitReconstitution of powdered milk, juices and powders 
Batch butter churn (industrial butter churn)Butter production by the traditional churning method 
Double-O cheese vatFrom 1,250 to 5,000 L. Hard and soft cheeses 
Milk cooler (milk cooling tank)Rapid cooling of milk after milking and pasteurization Catalogue sections: Milk processing equipment, Butter making equipment, Cheese making equipment