Food & beverage

Sanitation that keeps working after the crew leaves.

From raw protein to bottling, Cognituv adds continuous treatment to surfaces, conveyors, cold rooms, process water and air, and puts the data next to your food-safety records.

Case studyContinuous bio-security at 42,000 bottles an hourFood & beverage · Bottling plant · ArgentinaFood & beverageRead the case study
Workers in hairnets along a produce processing and packing line

What’s at stake

The problems we hear most.

  • Re-exposure starts at restart

    Sanitation resets the plant. Then product, people and air movement start re-exposing surfaces the moment the line runs again.

  • Cold, wet areas hold on to pathogens

    Coolers, drains, drying rooms and condensate are where Listeria and other environmental pathogens tend to persist.

  • Chemical load adds up

    Every extra sanitizer cycle costs labor and water and leaves residue to manage.

  • Auditors want records

    FSMA, HACCP and customer audits all ask for the same thing: evidence.

Facility types

What changes from one facility type to the next.

What we look at first, the systems we usually find, the codes and standards to check and where we’d start. Codes and standards are listed for reference: a listing isn’t a compliance finding, and doesn’t mean any product, Cognituv’s included, is certified to one.

  • Food processing plant

    Raw and ready-to-eat production, from cutting rooms and cook lines to packaging, with storage on site.

    Includes: Meat and poultry processing · Dairy processing · Produce processing · Packaged-food manufacturing

    We look at
    • Surfaces and conveyors between sanitation cycles
    • Evaporator coils and drain pans in cold rooms
    • Records an auditor can read
    Typical systems
    Evaporator coils · Air handlers · Rooftop units · Refrigeration systems
    IBC groups to screen
    F-1 (Factory: moderate hazard) · S-1 (Storage: moderate hazard) · S-2 (Storage: low hazard) · B (Business)
  • Beverage and bottling plant

    Filling, capping and packaging lines with process water, CIP and syrup handling.

    Includes: Bottling plant · Brewery · Winery

    We look at
    • Filling and capping areas
    • Process and rinse water
    • Tanks, coolers and the air handlers serving them
    Typical systems
    Air handlers · Refrigeration · Process cooling · Process and rinse water
    IBC groups to screen
    F-1 (Factory: moderate hazard) · F-2 (Factory: low hazard) · S-1 (Storage: moderate hazard) · S-2 (Storage: low hazard) · A-2 (Assembly: dining, drinking and casino gaming)
  • Refrigerated and frozen warehouse

    Chilled and frozen warehouses, where every door opening brings warm, humid air onto the evaporator coils.

    Includes: Cold storage warehouse · Frozen-goods warehouse · Cold-chain distribution

    We look at
    • Evaporator coils and drain pans
    • Temperature and door-open time
    • Humidity where condensation appears
    Typical systems
    Evaporator coils · Industrial refrigeration · Ammonia systems
    IBC groups to screen
    S-1 (Storage: moderate hazard) · S-2 (Storage: low hazard) · H (High hazard)
    Where we’d start
    Industrial UV-C · Cognituv Connect
  • Indoor farm and greenhouse

    Controlled-environment crop production, where heat, humidity and disease pressure set the operating plan.

    Includes: Indoor vertical farm · Production greenhouse

    We look at
    • Grow beds and crop surfaces
    • Heat and humidity at the canopy
    • The air handling that serves the grow rooms
    Typical systems
    Precision air handlers · Dehumidification · Supplemental cooling
    IBC groups to screen
    F (Factory and industrial) · U (Utility and miscellaneous) · M (Mercantile)

By segment

The method is the same across the plant floor. Where the risk sits, and where UV-C fits, changes by product.

  • Meats

    Cutting rooms, conveyors and coolers carry the most risk. Surface UV-C over belts and tables, and indirect units in curing and drying rooms, add treatment between washdowns.

  • Poultry

    High water use and fast lines make process water and conveyors the priority, with cold-coil UV-C in chill areas.

  • Seafood

    Constant moisture and short shelf life put the focus on rinse water, ice and cold storage.

  • Dairy

    Process water and filling and packaging areas come first, plus the air handlers serving them.

  • Cheese

    Aging rooms need airborne mold under control without disturbing the cultures you want. Indirect room UV-C and on-coil treatment keep the room’s air handling clean.

  • Ready-to-eat meals

    With no kill step after packaging, post-cook handling, slicing and packaging surfaces matter most.

  • Frozen foods and ice cream

    Freezer and cooler coils, condensate and packaging lines. ICE fixtures are rated for sub-zero rooms.

  • Cold storage and distribution

    Evaporator coils and drain pans in coolers grow biofilm that ends up in the room air. Cold-coil UV-C treats them in place, and Connect logs temperature and humidity.

  • Leafy greens

    Wash water and conveyors handle product that is often eaten raw, so wash-water UV-C and belt treatment add a layer.

  • Vegetables and potatoes

    Storage humidity drives mold and rot. Room air treatment and rinse-water UV-C support longer storage.

  • Fruit

    Packing-house conveyors, storage rooms and wash water are the control points.

  • Bakery

    Mold spores in cooling and packaging areas shorten shelf life. Room UV-C over cooling conveyors and packaging is the usual starting point.

  • Confectionery

    Sugar, moisture and handling invite mold and yeast in packaging. Surface UV-C on packaging lines adds treatment without chemical residue on product.

  • Snacks, cereal and seeds

    Low-moisture foods can still carry Salmonella, so dry-sanitation areas and conveyors benefit from treatment that adds no water.

  • Spices and seasonings

    Dry handling and blending areas need treatment that adds no moisture. UV-C over conveyors and packaging fits that.

  • Sauces and condiments

    Process water, tank surroundings and filling lines are the control points.

  • Sugars and syrups

    Bulk storage and process water can carry yeast and mold. In-line UV-C on water and treatment around tanks and filling help.

Identify · Apply · Verify™

How a project runs.

  1. Identify

    We map the risk with your QA team: surfaces, conveyors, cold rooms, process water and the air handlers serving them.

  2. Apply

    UV-C sized to each surface and schedule, installed around production.

  3. Verify

    Run time, UV-C output, temperature and water quality report into Cognituv Connect, and your environmental monitoring program shows the result.

Where we work: Meat, poultry and seafood, Dairy and cheese, Bakery and confectionery, Produce and fresh-cut, Beverage and bottling and Cold storage and distribution.

Codes and standards

The references to check, each linked to its publisher.

The list comes from Cognituv’s facility and code library, reviewed September 2026. Publication isn’t adoption: whether a document applies, and which edition, depends on your jurisdiction, its amendments and your project, and the authority having jurisdiction decides. A listing isn’t a compliance finding for your facility, and doesn’t mean any product, Cognituv’s included, is certified to it.

See what the data says about your facility.

Start with a no-cost assessment: a call with an engineer and a written recommendation. When you want the data first, Cognituv Connect measures your own equipment, scoped and quoted for your site.

Book an assessment