Cleaning out of place (COP)

Many small parts of equipment and utensil, as well as small container, can be washed effectively in a recirculatings parts washer, called Cleaning Out of Place (COP) unit.

Typically COP systems are open tanks where a given cleaning solution can be heated and re-circulated.

When using a COP system, workers must take equipment apart or move it from the production area to a cleaning area. The parts are rinsed, sanitized and reassembled.

In the past, regulatory agencies have used fluid flow force to judge whether a cleaning system is adequate.

COP units have a pump that recirculates the cleaning solution and rinse water, and distribution headers that agitate the cleaning solution. A COP unit can also serve as the recirculating unit for CIP operation.

The normal wash cycle takes about 30 to 40 minutes and the cold acid or sanitizing rinse talks about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Cleaning out of place (COP)

Cleaning in place (CIP)

Today, in many food industries, CIP is not only a cleaning method but a strategic decision built into the design of the plant and its individual parts.

Dairies and breweries have used CIP of many years but few other plants have used it because it is expensive to buy and install and some processing equipment can be hard to clean this way.

Therefore, food processors can only use CIP in certain places and the system must be custom designed.

According to Society of Dairy Technology, CIP can be defined as the cleaning of the complete items of the plant or pipeline circuits without dismantling or opening of the equipment and with little or no manual involvement on the part do the operator.

Basically CIP is a hydrodynamic cleaning process where rinsing, cleaning and sanitization fluids circulate along the path of the product and provide the detergency as well as the mechanical action needed for the removal of soil without dismantling the line.

The CIP principle combines the benefits of the chemical activity of the cleaning compounds with the physical effects of spray, flowing fluids and brushed.

CIP units comprise vessels for storage and recovery of cleaning solutions, along with valves, pumps, pipelines and field instrumentation to allow cleaning to take place, usually automatically.

The system dispenses the cleaning solution into the soiled surface, for the right amount so time, at the right temperature, at the right concentration and with the right amount of force.
Cleaning in place (CIP)