It's pretty well known that for mould to flourish it needs a wet and warm environment. So what better place than a Food & Beverage plant where you can find high pressure washers, fluctuating temperatures and organic substances.
We know this is not a revelation to the Food and Beverage industry; hence the stringent hygiene requirements that are rightfully put in place to ensure factories meet the standards we expect as consumers.
However what F&B manufacturers may not be aware of is the common growth of mould found on the very common PVC control cables (SY, YY, CY) used to power many of these factories (See image below for an example of a mouldy SY cable).
Due to its porous nature PVC will eventually absorb the moisture from the atmosphere which results in degradation of the material. In cable terms this would cause the cable to become hard and brittle and eventually break down the outer sheath. Surprisingly at Lapp Group we have seen these changes in as little as 6 months.
We know what you are thinking - damage from hydrolysis is not necessarily classed as mould. However it is the initial process of the formation of bacteria amongst PVC cables.
The growth of mould is not caused solely by a humid atmosphere but with the added presence of organic substances found naturally amongst this industry. With the combination of these environmental factors a material like PVC will not withstand the build up of microbes; the one thing Food and Beverage manufacturers work so hard to avoid.
So is it fair to say: The presence of harmful bacteria in our food plants is not acceptable so the same should go for the bacteria on cables within these factories themselves?
Lapp Group along with many manufacturers believes this to be the case.
THE SOLUTION
As a result Lapp Group have designed a range of microbe resistant cables with non-porous qualities estimated to last up to 10 times longer then the standard SY, CY, YY cables.
Manufacturers in the UK & Ireland supporting this include Coca Cola, Arla Dairies and Guinness all of which specify ÖLFLEX
ROBUST, our full range of polyurethane sheathed cables and stainless steel cable glands.
All of the above are made from bacteria resistant, water resistant and oil resistant materials ideal for the Food & Beverage industry.
