Food Grade Reactor

The Challenge

A soy sauce manufacturer in Japan wanted to modernize their fermentation process. Their traditional wooden vessels produced good quality product but had inconsistent batch-to-batch results and required extensive manual cleaning. They needed a stainless steel reactor that could maintain precise temperature control during the 6-month fermentation cycle while meeting food safety standards.

The key requirements were:

• ✓ FDA-compliant materials (304 stainless steel)
• ✓ Smooth internal surfaces for easy cleaning
• ✓ Temperature control: 25°C to 60°C (fermentation range)
• ✓ Gentle agitation to support microbial activity
• ✓ Sanitary connections throughout

Our Solution

We designed a 5,000L food-grade reactor with features optimized for fermentation processes:

Technical Specifications

Key Design Features

• ✓ Dome-shaped head for complete drainage
• ✓ Large manway (600mm) for cleaning and inspection
• ✓ Semi-coil jacket for even temperature distribution
• ✓ Low-shear paddle agitator — gentle mixing for microbial health
• ✓ Sanitary tri-clamp connections (no dead legs)
• ✓ CIP spray ball for automated cleaning
• ✓ Fermentation air inlet with 0.2μm filter
• ✓ Temperature probes at multiple heights

Why Food Grade Matters

Food-grade reactors have stricter requirements than industrial reactors:

• ✓ Material certification: Every steel plate must have FDA-compliant mill certificates
• ✓ Surface finish: Welds must be ground and polished to prevent bacterial harborage
• ✓ Dead legs: No piping configurations that trap product — all connections must drain completely
• ✓ Cleaning: CIP capability reduces labor and ensures consistent sanitation
• ✓ Documentation: Full material traceability for food safety audits

The Result

After 8 months of operation, the customer reported:

• ✓ Batch-to-batch consistency improved significantly
• ✓ Cleaning time reduced from 4 hours (manual) to 1 hour (CIP)
• ✓ No contamination incidents in 200+ batches
• ✓ Passed food safety audit without observations