Clean-in-place (CIP), easy access and higher standards are making cleaning a mixer easier.

“When you’re installing a new line, you have to think about sanitation at the beginning of the development,” said Piet Vader, sales manager, Tanis Food Tec.

Many mixers used for batter also are used in other food industries that have higher sanitation standards than the baking industry. Therefore, these mixers are designed to a higher sanitation specification that bakers can take advantage of.

“The food industry is very demanding in regulations that require the equipment to meet these tough specifications,” said Bill Wade, equipment director for the Breddo Likwifier Division, Corbion Ingredients. “We started in the dairy industry, and we branched out to other areas of food processing.”

CIP systems and wash-in-place systems also are becoming standard. With a push of a button, continuous batter mixers from Tanis Food Tec clean themselves and are ready to do the next run half an hour later, fully cleaned. E.T. Oakes Corp. offers spray balls that wash out the tanks of its slurry mixers. CIP pumps also may be mounted on the skids to make the equipment CIP-ready.

For Topos Mondial, CIP comes standard on its mixers now. The mixer is connected to a hot water source to quickly wash off the head, beaters and everything else.

Zeppelin Systems USA’s shear stream mixer is wash-in-place with nozzles that attach to the inside of the mixer. Then the mixer may be filled with water and run, cleaning itself.

Mixers also may be designed to make them more accessible to operators. The mixing bowls from Shaffer Manufacturing, a Bundy Baking Solution company, tilt, providing full access to the bowl for inspection and cleaning. The continuous batter mixers from Reading Bakery Systems feature a clamshell design that makes it easier for an operator to clean. There is also less to clean as there is minimal contact area inside the mixer compared to traditional methods.