9.1 Introduction
We will here mainly consider the design of floors intended for greasy and/or wet
food processing areas where they have to fulfil many requirements to be
suitable. Because flooring materials are not food contact surfaces, some may
consider that flooring materials are not of paramount importance to obtain the
best microbial quality of food product. However, all cleaning systems disperse
viable microorganisms in both water droplets and aerosols (Holahet al., 1990),
allowing microorganisms to reach food and food contact surfaces. As slipping is
one of the main causes of accidents at work, flooring materials need to be rough.
Add to these the fact that gravity carries most of the soiling and microorganisms
down, and it can be seen why flooring materials are usually more
microbiologically contaminated than other inert surfaces of food processing
premises. Finally, floors are places whereListeria monocytogenesis very likely
to be found (Coxet al., 1989; Nelson, 1990). For all these reasons, great
attention should be given to the choice and then to the application of a flooring
material. The aim of this chapter is to give non-specialists some explanations of
what the flooring materials for food processing premises are and to describe
what properties are suitable for food processing areas.
9.2 Whatare floorsmade of?
9.2.1 The substrate
The material that supports flooring, called the substrate or the floor base, has a
great impact on the quality of the flooring material. It is either an existing one,
9 Improvingthe designof floors
B. Carpentier, Agence FrancÀaise de Se¬curite¬Sanitaire des
Aliments, France