Canning factories are hot, dusty, dirty places, and not for lack of trying to keep clean. The fact is, these factories receive thousands of pounds of vegetables every week during peak season, and none of these fresh vegetables are washed before they are brought to the plant. That means tons of loose dirt that has to be washed and rinsed away, and the canning employees typically do not have time to do that. You need to hire commercial cleaning services to clean up your canning factory. Here are three reasons why.

Prevent Contamination of Food Being Processed

Even though the vegetables are thoroughly washed before they are cooked and canned, a lot of dirt and bugs can still find their way into the machines. This creates the perfect contamination storm of listeria and other bacteria that can make consumers very sick. The machines need to be cleaned nightly during canning season, and that is a lot of overtime if you do not hire a commercial cleaning crew.

Remove Bug and Animal Pests from the Factory

Bugs come in with the vegetable loads. They are pests, and will hunt out any produce not canned or produce removed through quality control efforts. They will then reproduce on the canning floor and create an uncontrollable infestation that leads to factory shutdowns. In addition to the bugs, other pests, such as mice and rats, will follow the bugs and produce. Any produce set aside to be processed is an easy meal for these rodents, and a dangerous health risk to consumers. Regular cleanings removes the pests from the factory.

The Dust and Dirt Can Make Employees Sick

As the dust from the produce is left to accumulate on the produce floors, it gets kicked up by employees and picked up by fans. As it floats through the air, employees are breathing it in, along with pesticides that were on the produce. The employees breathe all of this in, and they become very sick. Long-term effects of this job have shown to negatively impact the lives of those who work in canning factories, which is all the more reason for your factory to get clean and stay clean.

Recommendations for Cleaning Your Canning Factory

During peak canning seasons, daily commercial cleaning is recommended. As the harvest seasons slow down, every couple of days, or a few times a week, are ideal. If the factory has layoffs due to a very slow period, then once or twice a week is sufficient, although many factories opt for once or twice every two weeks.