The exterior construction of the ice-cream plant is of little importance as long as the building is large and strong enough to hold the business, and is neat and clean. The building may be of brick, wood, hollow tile, cement block or any other satisfactory material. The interior arrangement should receive careful study and planning. In a new building, devoted to the manufacture of ice-cream, the details usually can be included in the plans. However, it is often necessary to use some building which was not especially constructed or arranged for ice-cream-making. An old building usually can be rearranged so that it will be suitable and fairly convenient. It should be large enough to give sufficient room for the machinery and space for working. If a new building is being constructed, the plans should be made with a view of possible needs for enlargements. The building should not be so large that there will be waste space. This causes unnecessary expense and requires useless labor to keep clean. Certain considerations should be kept in mind, whether building a new plant or rearranging an old building. These are discussed in the following paragraphs.
—For the ease of delivery, the plant should be located as near the center of the city as possible. If it is planned to ship much ice-cream by express, a location near the express company is desirable. If it is a small plant and expects to conduct a retail business principally, the location should be on one of the main streets of the town in order to reach as many of the consuming public as possible. Usually sewage connections can be secured in any part of the city so this factor need not be considered. The question of a clean atmosphere about the factory is of much importance; if located in a manufacturing section of the city, it is almost impossible to keep the factory clean because of the smoke and cinders.
Fig. 83.—Plan of small ice-cream plant.
—Because of the large number of difficult makes of the same kind of machine and the variation in size of the different types, it is impossible to make exact plans without knowing the exact size of the machine. In a small plant all the machinery is usually located on the same floor. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 83. This is intended as both a retail and wholesale plant. The retail salesroom might be omitted and the plans used for a small wholesale plant. A small boiler for heating water for washing and sterilizing the utensils might be located in the basement. If desired, tanks for the making of ice might also be placed in the basement. Such a plan is shown in Fig. 84. The arrangement should be such as to follow the natural sequence of the process as far as possible. The second story or attic might be used as a storeroom.
Fig. 84.—Basement plan of large ice-cream plant.
The exact location of the machines is not indicated, since this will depend on their size. However, the rooms are large enough so that the exact placing of the machines is not a difficult problem.
The basement, first and second floor plans of a wholesale plant are shown in Figs. 84, 85, 86. For the reasons previously mentioned, the exact location of the machines is not indicated.
Fig. 85.—First floor plan of plant shown in Fig. 84.
—There should be ample room for the loading of the ice-cream and the unloading of the empties and the returned ice-cream. The loading platform should be protected from the storms. Such a platform in a large ice-cream plant is shown in Fig. 87; note the chutes for the loading of crushed ice. Often the wagon or auto storage is a part of the same space as the loading platform.
Fig. 87.—A loading platform in a large ice-cream plant.
—The question of proper light in the ice-cream plant has been neglected. This may be because the buildings in the city are close together and it is difficult to get light except from the ends of the building which are exposed to the street or alley. Many of the smaller plants are in the basement and in these it is impossible to have anything but artificial light. The natural light may be secured from windows or skylights. The sacrifice of space for skylights is shown in Fig. 88. Light seems to be a stimulus to keep the plant clean. It also makes it more pleasant and cheerful. It is believed that sunlight tends to disperse disease germs. It would be a great benefit if it were necessary for all ice-cream plants to have a certain amount of window space in each room.
—Next to light, the question of proper ventilation is neglected. The windows, doors and skylights may serve as a means. If they are used for this purpose and are screened against flies, there is danger of considerable dirt getting in. In some of the large plants, a very extensive system of ventilation is employed. In these, no air is allowed to enter except through this system, and all the entering air is either filtered or washed or both. The air is circulated by a large fan. This insures only clean pure air entering the manufacturing rooms. The importance of pure air about food products cannot be over-emphasized. It is difficult to ventilate a basement properly. All doors and windows should be screened against flies. There should be no stable in connection with the manufacturing rooms.
Fig. 88.—The value of skylights is shown by this well lighted freezing-room, considerable floor space above being sacrificed for this purpose.
—The floors should be of some non-absorbent waterproof material that can be cleansed easily. Concrete undoubtedly is the best material, when both cost and adaptability are considered. The floor should slope towards drains which will carry away the water. These should be connected with the city sewage system, septic tank, or cesspool. If sewage connections cannot be obtained, a cesspool or septic tank must be installed, preferably the latter. The drains should have sealed traps to prevent the escape of sewage gas into the plant. Some prefer to have the drain in the center of the floor and others at the side; this is immaterial so long as it works effectively.
—The ceilings and side-walls should be kept clean. If they are constructed of various tiles or plasters, they can be washed. If made of wood, they should be kept painted. If painted white or light colored, it helps to make the room lighter.
—Proper facilities should be provided properly to wash and sterilize the utensils. There is usually a lack of sinks for washing utensils in the ice-cream plants. After the utensils are properly cleaned, there should be a place where they can be kept until wanted again. Tables, shelves, and cupboards offer suitable places to keep utensils when not in use.
—Every plant where food products are manufactured should be provided with a locker-room in which the employees can change their clothes. Each person should have a separate locker. The locker-room should also contain a lavatory and shower-baths and facilities for washing the hands and face. The locker-room should be kept neat and clean.
—The average consumer appreciates food products produced in clean plants. There is no better advertisement than to invite the public to see the factory. The plant and employees should be so clean that it will make a strong impression and the visitors in turn will tell others. The employees should wear clean white suits. If the plant is large enough, a laundry for washing may be included in the equipment.
—Few ice-cream-makers know how to clean the utensils thoroughly. The following is a good method: (1) Rinse off the milk and grease with lukewarm water. (2) Wash in hot water as hot as the hands can stand. To this water add some washing-powder to cut the grease. There is a tendency to use too much washing-powder. Enough to burn the hands should not be used. (3) Scrub the utensils in the washing solution with a brush. Do not use a cloth. (4) Rinse with warm water. (5) Scald with boiling water or live steam. The utensils may be dipped in boiling water or boiling water may be poured over them. They may be placed in a sterilizer and live steam applied. The heating kills most of the bacteria and is usually sufficient to dry the utensils. In no case should a cloth be employed for drying.
—The proper cleaning of the floor is not considered by many as a necessary part of the manufacturing process. However, it is very important in the clean appearance of the plant that the floor be clean. Often too much water is used and yet the floor is not clean. The best method is as follows: (1) Rinse the floor with water thrown from a pail; (2) sweep up all loose dirt; (3) make a hot solution of washing-powder, a little stronger than for washing utensils, and spread this on the floor and scrub with floor broom, scrub toward the drain; (4) rinse with clean warm water thrown from a pail. If the hose is used, too much time and water are wasted.
—No ice-cream plant is complete unless it includes a storeroom and workshop. More or less supplies must be stored and it helps the general appearance of the plant materially if there is a special room for this purpose. More or less repairs are necessary, so that a workshop should be provided. It is desirable to have this near or a part of the storeroom.
—Many states have ice-cream-makers’ organizations or associations. The state organizations are united in a National Association of Ice-Cream-Makers. Many of these associations have adapted sanitary codes. Following are some samples:
1. All factories or shops shall be open to the public at all times.
2. Workrooms must be thoroughly clean and free from dust, foul atmosphere and contamination, and shall be well lighted, to the end that there shall be no dark corners where rubbish or dirt may accumulate.
3. One square foot of glass surface exposed to natural light, unobscured by buildings or other devices nearer than ten feet, for each ten square feet of floor surface of the workrooms must be provided. Basements shall not be used as workrooms unless these provisions can be met.
4. Garbage and all waste material subject to decomposition, must be removed daily to the outside and deposited in a can provided exclusively for this purpose, composed of impervious material and provided with a tight fitting cover. Covers must be kept on the cans at all times except when entering or removing the material.
5. The side-walls and ceilings of all workrooms shall be well plastered, tiled or wainscoated or ceiled with metal or lumber and shall be well painted to the end that they may be readily cleaned and they shall be kept free from dust, dirt and foreign matter and clean at all times.
6. The floors of all workrooms shall be impermeable and be made of cement, tile laid in cement, or other suitable non-absorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. Floors shall be sloped to one or more drains which must be properly connected to the sewerage system.
7. Store and storage rooms for materials must be kept clean and free from objectionable odors.
8. Doors, windows and other openings of every workroom shall be screened during the fly season with screens not coarser than 14-mesh wire gauze, or in any other manner equally effective keep the workrooms free from flies and vermin at all seasons of the year.
9. All factories or shops shall have convenient toilet rooms, separate and apart from the workrooms, and no toilet rooms shall be within or connected directly with a workroom, either by a door, window or other opening. The floors of the toilet room shall be of cement, tile or other non-absorbent material, and shall be kept clean at all times. Toilet rooms shall be furnished with separate ventilating flues or pipes discharging into soil pipes or on the outside of the building in which they are situated. Lavatories and washrooms shall be adjacent to toilet rooms and shall be supplied with soap, running water and clean towels and shall be maintained in a sanitary condition. Workroom employees before beginning work and after visiting toilet rooms shall wash their hands and arms thoroughly in clean water.
10. No person shall live or sleep in any building used as a factory or shop, unless the factory or shop is separated by impervious walls, without doors or windows or other openings from the parts of the building used for living or sleeping purposes.
11. No horses, cows or other animals shall be stabled or kept in any building where ice-cream is made, unless the factory or shop is separated from the place where the horses, cows or other animals are stabled or kept by impervious walls without doors, windows or other openings.
12. No person suffering from an infectious disease, which can be transmitted through ice-cream, shall work in an ice-cream manufacturing plant.
13. All workroom employees shall be clean in person at all times and shall wear clean washable clothing and caps. They shall not smoke or chew tobacco while at work. They shall not touch the product with their hands at any time. Employees may be specially designated to cut and wrap brick ice cream and to fill fancy moulds and as this work necessitates some handling of the product, such employees must be scrupulously clean and wear clean, washable clothing and caps.
14. All wagons, trucks, drays, cans and tubs, platforms and racks, shall be so constructed that they may readily be cleaned and they shall be kept clean. Utensils must be of smooth non-absorbent material, as tin, or tinned copper, the seams of which are flushed smooth with solder.
15. Suitable means or appliances shall be provided for the proper cleansing or sterilizing of freezers, vats, cans, mixing cans or tanks, piping and all utensils used as containers for ice-cream or raw material, and all tools used in making or the direct handling of ice-cream, and all such apparatus, utensils, and tools after use shall be thoroughly cleansed and scalded with boiling water or sterilized with steam. The water supply for washing utensils must be free from contamination.
16. No person shall use any vessel used in the manufacture and sale of ice-cream for any other purpose.
17. Soft or melted ice cream or any other ice-cream shall not be refrozen under any circumstances.
18. Milk and cream must be stored only in clean receptacles in clean refrigerators. Milk or cream which has undergone various fermentations, gaseous, bitter or otherwise, shall not be used in the manufacture of ice-cream. Flavoring extracts, condiments, syrups, fruits, nuts and other materials used as food must be securely protected from dust, dirt, vermin, flies and other contamination, and must be kept and stored only in clean receptacles. Decomposed, decayed, fermented or rancid food material shall not be used. Ice-cream must be stored only in clean receptacles in clean refrigerators.
19. It is expressly declared that the object of this code is to insure a pure and clean product, made, stored and handled under clean conditions, and no technical defect in the construction of any clause shall relieve any person of the obligation of complying with the letter and spirit of this code in its entirety.
20. All creamery and condensery operators, ice-cream manufacturers and all other dealers in milk and cream, and their customers must cleanse all receptacles used in shipping milk and cream as soon as they are emptied, when same are to be returned by railroad, trolley, or boat, in order to prevent the development of dangerous bacteria to threaten the health of the consumers of the product.
1. All factories or shops shall be open to the public at all times.
2. Workrooms must be thoroughly clean and shall be well ventilated and well lighted to the end that there shall be no dark or concealed corners where rubbish or dirt may accumulate.
3. The side-walls and ceilings of all workrooms shall be well plastered or tiled or ceiled with metal. If plastered or ceiled with metal, they shall be kept well painted with oil paint to the end that they may readily be cleaned and they shall be kept clean at all times.
4. The floors of all workrooms shall be impermeable and be made of cement, tile laid in cement, or of other suitable non-absorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. Floors shall be sloped to one or more drains which must be properly connected with the sewerage system.
5. Storerooms for materials shall be kept clean and free from objectional odors.
6. Doors, windows and other openings of every workroom shall be screened during the fly season, and all workrooms and storerooms shall be kept free from flies at all seasons of the year.
7. All factories or shops shall have convenient toilet rooms separate and apart from the workrooms, and no toilet room shall be within or connected directly with a workroom either by a door, window or other opening. The floors of the toilet rooms shall be of cement, tile or other non-absorbent material, and shall be kept clean at all times. Toilet rooms shall be furnished with separate ventilating flues or pipes, discharging into soil pipes or on the outside of the building in which they are situated. Lavatories and washrooms shall be adjacent to toilet rooms and shall be supplied with soap, running water and clean towels, and shall be maintained in a sanitary condition. Workroom employees beginning work and after visiting toilet room shall wash their hands and arms thoroughly in clean water.
8. No person shall be allowed to live or sleep in any building used as a factory or shop, unless the factory or shop is separated by impervious walls, without doors or windows or other openings from the parts of the building used for living or sleeping purposes.
9. No horses, cows or other animals shall be stabled or kept in any building where ice-cream is made, unless the factory or shop is separated from the places where the horses, cows or other animals are stabled or kept by impenetrable walls without doors, windows or other openings.
10. No person suffering from an infectious disease, which can be transmitted through ice-cream, shall be employed in an ice-cream manufacturing plant.
11. All workroom employees shall be clean in person at all times and shall wear clean, washable clothing and caps. They shall not smoke or chew tobacco while at work. They shall not touch the product with their hands at any time. Employees may be specially designated to cut and wrap brick ice-cream and to fill fancy molds, and as this work necessitates some handling of the product, such employees must be scrupulously clean, and wear clean, washable clothing and caps.
12. All wagons, truck, drays, cans and tubs, platforms and racks shall be so constructed that they may be readily cleaned, and they shall be kept clean.
13. Suitable means or appliances shall be provided for the proper cleansing or sterilizing of freezers, vats, mixing cans or tanks, piping and all utensils used as containers for ice-cream, and all tools used in making or the direct handling of ice-cream, and all such apparatus, utensils and tools after use shall be thoroughly cleansed and rinsed with boiling water or sterilized with live steam.
14. Vessels used in the manufacture and sale of ice-cream shall not be employed for any other purpose by any person.
15. No member shall take back any broken package of ice-cream, nor any unbroken package which contains soft or melted ice-cream. No ice-cream shall under any circumstances be melted and refrozen.
16. It is expressly declared that the object of this Code is to insure a clean product, made, stored and handled under cleanly conditions, and no technical defect in the construction of any clause shall relieve any member of the obligation of complying with the letter and the spirit of this Code in its entirety.