Mixing Is A Common Process In The Agriculture Industry

Contamination free mixing is the process of thoroughly combining a mixture without leaving unwanted materials in it. This is important to prevent chemical, biological and physical contamination. Ideally, all ingredients used to create a product will be pure and fresh before entering the production process. However, contaminants can sometimes be introduced into a finished product during the manufacturing process due to poor handling techniques. Those contaminants may be in the form of a physical impurity (such as fiber material or grit particles), a chemical substance (such as vapor, gasses and moisture) or a biological entity such as bacteria and viruses.

Biological contamination is an important concern for restaurants that handle potentially hazardous foods such as leafy greens, unpasteurized milk and cheese, raw eggs, deli meat, and bean sprouts. These types of foods can contain bacteria and viruses that can spread if equipment, surfaces or utensils are not properly cleaned between batches. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that cross-contamination can also occur when food items contaminated with these pathogens are prepared with non-contaminated ingredients or on a clean piece of equipment.

Chemical contamination is another problem that can occur when a product is mixed in a container that contains a chemical residue from a previous use. This type of contamination can affect the consistency and quality of the final product. This can also occur if the product is stored in a container that has been used by other people or has a leak in its holding container.

IBC mixing is a common process in the agriculture industry as farmers, ag retailers and chemical wholesalers often use the containers to store and mix fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and other chemicals for crop protection and growth. IBCs are highly versatile and can be utilized for a wide variety of applications. To mitigate issues associated with contamination, EvenMix offers a line of Integrated Tote Mixers (ITM) that allow growers to easily perform mixing processes in their IBC storage containers. The tote mixers feature a detachable drive segment that can be switched between multiple tanks, eliminating the need to open and expose the contents of a tote and preventing cross-contamination.