Birko, Crunch Pak partner for food safety
Birko, a provider of antimicrobial process aids and sanitation chemistry to the produce industry, has partnered with Crunch Pak to provide food safety solutions for fresh produce manufacture. Crunch Pak, Cashmere, Wash., provides organic and conventional sliced apples to supermarkets nationwide and in Canada.
Birko recently installed its improved entryway foamers at Crunch Pak's Washington and Pennsylvania plants. Entryway foamers help keep E. coli, salmonella, listeria and other pathogens from migrating at processing plants. Placed at all critical plant entries, the foamers will help protect Crunch Pak's processing environment from contamination carried by foot traffic and forklift tires, according to Birko.
“Birko has made itself available to us as a partner to provide the right equipment and chemistry for our needs,” said Ozgur Koc, director of research and food safety/quality assurance at Crunch Pak's Cashmere, Wash., plant. “They've enhanced our food safety practices and we look forward to continuing to grow with them.”
Dana Johnson, Birko's produce specialist, said, “Crunch Pak is on the cutting edge of produce safety, as produce processors are being asked to meet new stringent guidelines from the FDA.”
In addition to its entryway foamers, Birko has supplied Crunch Pak with a complete suite of chemistry to control pathogens in its packinghouses, including:
- Birko's Algae Guard Quat Blocks, used in refrigeration unit condensate trays to prevent growth of harboring biofilms
- Sterilex Ultra Kleen CW-502 HF Powder, a foaming drain cleaner used as an instrumental part of Crunch Pak's listeria prevention program
- Sterilex Ultra Disinfectant Cleaner Solution I and Ultra Kleen Liquid Cleaner Solution II, biofilm removal products for deep cleaning of processing equipment
