Guidelines for food processing lighting fixtures

In a recent article, we discussed the advantages of using LED lighting in cold storage facilities and food processing plants. If the aforementioned post persuaded you that you require LED food processing lights, you might be unsure about your next steps. To get all of the advantages we covered in that previous piece, we’ll talk about what exact lights and fixtures you might require in your facility in this post.

Under one roof, there are numerous distinctive rooms used by the food and beverage industries. You might have parking lots, cold storage, assembly lines, packing and shipping facilities, etc., and each of these features has its own lighting. All of these spaces are included in this list.

The sorts of lights that your food processing facility may require or already have can be upgraded or freshly outfitted with industrial LED lights are defined and discussed below.

Food Safe LED Lights Safety Certifications

We have LED lighting that has been certified to meet the specific specifications set forth by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) and other certifying bodies for lighting to be considered food safe. Here are just a few requirements that LED lights, including all the variations we’ll talk about below, can satisfy:

• The fixtures are IP69K rated, indicating that they can withstand powerful water jets for cleaning.
• NEMA enclosure ratings, indicating that dust and other particles won’t have an impact on the fixtures.
• Unlike conventional bulbs, which raise issues with storage, safety, and disposal, mercury-free bulbs
• NSF/ANSI certifications to satisfy food safety (toxicology analysis) and splash zone (items evaluated on smoothness, resistance to corrosion, and capacity to be manually cleaned) requirements

High Bay Lighting 

High bay LED lights can be fixed directly to a ceiling or ceiling girder, through a pendant or chain, or both. In buildings with taller ceilings, high bay fixtures are frequently positioned higher than recessed troffer or fluorescent surface lighting applications to provide illumination for huge regions. High bay lights are necessary for many industrial applications, such as food and beverage processing facilities, because they have wide, open spaces with high ceilings yet also need sufficient light levels on the ground for worker sight.

Lighting to Replace Fluorescents

Many different fixtures use fluorescent lights, a type of lamp. Fluorescent lamps were widely used before LED illumination, so you probably have them in a lot of your present lighting applications. In the majority of these applications, replacing them with LED lights is straightforward, and you’ll benefit from all of LED’s post-retrofit advantages.

Vapor Tight Lighting

In locations where exposure to moisture, humidity, and dust is expected to occur, vapor-tight fixtures—sealed and gasketed luminaires—provide general lighting. Vapor-tight lighting, sometimes known as “wet location” fixtures, is available in a range of sizes and shapes but is most frequently seen in lengths of two to eight feet. When exposed to water or dust is a concern, these luminaires are typically mounted on ceilings, soffits, walls, or in any other commercial or industrial structure or facility. Vapor-tight lighting can be an excellent option since food processing companies have high cleaning requirements and because it can be sprayed with water and still function. Below, we go into further detail about hazardous location lighting, including vapor tight.

Parking Lot Lighting

Parking lot lights are, as the name implies, those high-mounted pole lights utilized to illuminate your facility’s parking spaces. These conventional LED parking lot lights are ideal for staff parking lots where employees keep their automobiles overnight or throughout the day while working their shifts. Keep in mind that effective parking lot lighting is essential for maintaining employee safety, particularly in the food and beverage production sector where workers may be making their way to their vehicles following a graveyard shift.

Wall-mounted lighting

Outdoor lighting that is frequently put on building outside walls is referred to as wall pack lights and building lights. This kind of outdoor lighting is typically utilized to provide regions with illumination for the use of pedestrians and vehicles as well as for security reasons. Multiple fixtures may be fixed on a single wall or structure, with the fixture spacing intended to give lighting at street level around an outside building. Your food processing facility’s outside will be safe and visible thanks to these lights.

Flood Lighting

In order to offer directional illumination to various area types, exterior lighting that is frequently put on buildings or poles is known as outdoor LED flood lighting. This kind of lighting is frequently employed to provide light to regions needed for security, car and pedestrian traffic, building wall washing, as well as for places used for sporting events and other sizable outdoor lighting-required areas. To offer this directional lighting, you might also notice flood lighting buried in the earth. Another outdoor LED lighting option for your facility is flood lighting.

High Mast Lighting

When lighting a vast area from a very high mounting height, high mast lighting is a frequent form of outdoor site light fixture. This style of pole light might be found in a port or a sizable sports venue. High mast lights are beneficial for shipping depots at a food manufacturing facility, for instance, where big trucks are parked and/or loaded with your goods. When traditional, lower-to-the-ground parking lot lighting (see below) is insufficient due to the lot’s size and the need for extra illumination, they can also be utilized in place of or as parking lot lights. Here, we talk about how vital employee parking lot safety is.