Understanding What Cleaning in Place Is

Unbeknownst to many, when it comes to brewing beverages, the cleaning process is an integral part – and has to be done repeatedly. Often between the brewing of batches, or at least on a consistent cycle. Cleaning in place is widely used in the food and beverage industry, as well as, the pharmaceutical industry to properly clean tools and instruments that are used during the manufacturing process. An abbreviation for Clean in Place is (CIP) and it is the perfect combination of chemicals and water that is used to clean various areas of a plant. Clean in Place also cleans pipes and different vessels without having to dismantle anything, this process can be conducted in one fail swoop, or however the plant has it set up. Overall, Clean in Place is an extremely efficient way to clean utensils, machinery, and a large manufacturing plant.

System Utilized in Automated Plant Environments

Clean in Place can be utilized and applied in any industrial plant environment where hygiene is a concern. Many plants will have to meet certain OSHA standards in order to remain in business, but Clean in Place is widely common in automated plants. Clean in place mostly strictly focuses upon the removal of soil that can often taint the manufactured items, whether it is being produced for human consumption or not. More often than not, in an automated plant environment, bacteria is easily spread and the bacterium varies in how dangerous it is. Many times, the most dangerous of bacteria cannot be seen and are spread very easily. With the utilization of the Clean in Place process, chemicals and water are heated to certain temperatures that generally hinder the growth of harmful bacteria.

Various Chemical Agents

There is a wide variety of different chemical agents that are used during the clean in place process and it widely depends on what type of area is being clean and sterilized. One thing about the Clean in Place process is that it can either be completely automatic, semi-automatic or a manual process. This is considered one of the most critical aspects of the brewing because it will ensure that the health and the safety of the consumer will not be comprised.

This particular process of cleaning has been perfected over the past five decades; it is by far the most efficient way to clean equipment without having to dismantle anything. It requires less time to ensure that everything is properly sanitized between batches being brewed and does not require any additional man-hours.