2014 AIChE Annual Meeting

(556c) The Challenges of Food Safety and Water Use Reductions in Dairy Processing


We will discuss the challenge of water usage in conflict with food safety requirements in the dairy industry.  We continue to clean more every year and every new piece of equipment installed has a greater volume demand of clean water.  The ability to re-use water is dependent upon the Federal PMO (Pasteurized Milk Ordinance) and the infrastructure in place throughout the industry.  With the right equipment designs and the possibility of using enzymes or other cleaning methodologies (that are not water intensive), we could make a huge dent in water consumption.  Chemical engineers working on water reduction around sanitation practices will be key to this progress.