Conveyors play a vital role in the food industry, facilitating the efficient transportation of ingredients, finished products, and packaged materials.

Industrial food conveyors come in an array of shapes, sizes, and materials, and can transport various items – ranging from baked goods and sugary snacks to raw meats, fish, and poultry.

If you work in a food processing factory and have been toying with the idea of investing in a food conveyor system for a while now, you’ll want to make sure that you choose the right type.

Below, the team at Stainless Steel Manufacturing & Equipment (SSME) outline the factors you need to consider when choosing a food-grade conveyor to ensure you make an informed decision for your facility.

6 factors to consider when choosing an industrial food conveyor

1. Durability

Food-grade conveyors often need to work very hard in demanding environments – sometimes operating for long periods.

With that in mind, it’s worth choosing a system that’s durable enough to withstand day-to-day operations and frequent cleaning.

Our modular belt food conveyors incorporate food-grade stainless steel modules and are extremely rugged in design. They can tolerate high and low temperatures and are perfect for heating and cooling – and drying applications, too.

2. Sanitation

Whether you need to convey meat, fish, dairy, or baked goods throughout your production line, you need to make sure that they are transported safely and hygienically.

In most cases, a conveyor that boasts a simple design and fewer moving parts will be much easier to sanitise at the end of the day – requiring less time and effort.

However, our stainless steel sanitising conveyor has a wire mesh or open link modular belt that allows products to be sprayed with a sanitising solution – minimising the risk of contamination.

3. Safety

Selecting a model that comes with a host of safety features will help mitigate the risk of employee injuries – protecting your business against costly compensation claims.

Choosing a food-grade conveyor with an emergency stop button will enable you to halt operation as soon as a hazard occurs. 

Systems such as the cone de-boning conveyor allow you to dictate the speed of the belt – working efficiently and at a comfortable pace. This can help your business to avoid expensive product recalls and maintain a positive reputation for producing food that’s not just edible, but tasty, too.

4. Maintenance

Many industrial food conveyors have moving parts and additional accessories these days – providing you with greater flexibility to prepare, finish, and package goods as they make their way along the production line.

Opting for a conveyor with just a few moving parts will require less maintenance, effectively minimising downtime and increasing productivity.

It’s also a good idea to choose a conveyor system that doesn’t require any tools to lift or remove the belt, like our sandwich assembly conveyor, allowing you to clean it quickly and easily.

5. Efficiency

Do you need a food conveyor for your fast-paced production environment?

Though plenty of fantastic options are available, it’s better to choose one that combines speed and accuracy – ensuring your food items move smoothly and safely throughout the production process.

The stainless steel chain peg tab indexing conveyors we supply are a must-have for conveying packed products, bottles, and cans of food between varying levels and heights at a controlled rate. They can also be integrated with other technologies within your production zone to ensure maximum efficiency.

6. Budget

When shopping for industrial food conveyors, it’s helpful to allocate yourself a realistic budget to prevent overspending.

Most people will compare the prices of different models and the features they offer before they commit to buying one – but you also need to factor in the costs of operating and maintaining them.

The last thing you want to do is choose the cheapest conveyor and end up splashing out on repairs or investing in additional equipment to suit the products that need transporting.

Need an expert opinion?

If you’re unsure which industrial food conveyor is perfect for your business or you’d like to know more about the options available, don’t hesitate to contact the team at SSME.

We’re always on hand to help, so we will happily answer your questions and advise you on the most suitable system for your industrial needs.

Feel free to call us on 0121 661 6346, email sales@ssmeltd.co.uk, or send us a message via our online enquiry form.