Digital CIP Tech Helps Dairy Farmers Optimize Cleaning Processes

A digital clean-in-place (CIP) solution is helping Dairy Farmers of America cooperative brands evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of their processes, resulting in thousands of dollars saved in chemicals and water.

Dairy Farmers of America brands use Ecolab's CIP IQ technology as a predictive and cost-saving tool.
Dairy Farmers of America brands use Ecolab's CIP IQ technology as a predictive and cost-saving tool.
Ecolab

As a farmer-owned dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) focuses on moving milk from farm to table and supports the processes required to produce quality products. The cooperative supports nearly 40 dairy brands across the U.S. A necessary component of quality is ensuring CIP processes are effective and efficient. With the help of Ecolab’s AI-enhanced CIP IQ software, partnered with 4T2 Sensors and its fluid-sensing technology, DFA says it can fix and optimize CIP procedures and save money at the same time.

“Ecolab CIP IQ has helped multiple plants within Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to identify and troubleshoot CIP system issues. When properly monitored, the system can be used as a predictive tool to avoid product nonconformance events. Additionally, Ecolab CIP IQ has been crucial to DFA in identifying opportunities for water and chemical cost savings,” says Micah Purella, Senior Director of Quality Assurance for DFA Dairy Brands.

Ecolab’s CIP IQ digital solution is designed to help food and beverage companies maximize product quality and safety. The technology uses AI-driven insights to help provide a real-time view of CIP performance with wash conformance scoring, consumption reporting, and critical exception alerts. For example, Precise Wash, a module of CIP IQ, uses real-time soil load data from sensors to help determine when active cleaning is complete.

Furthermore, CIP IQ’s integration with 4T2 Sensors’ technology allows IQ to leverage real-time fluid sensing alongside its 3D Trasar technology to reduce water consumption and increase efficiency for food and beverage manufacturers, two benefits DFA says it gained from using the complete IQ tool.

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