Allergen changeover is the cleaning step nobody on the floor wants and nobody on the QA side will sign off without. You're switching the same line between allergen states and your own HACCP plan sets the standard the line has to meet before the next run. Get it wrong and you're looking at a recall. Get it slow and you've eaten the margin on both runs.
Most plants run one of three changeover playbooks: a long wet wash with foaming alkaline, sanitizer, and a dry-down; a full tear-down with parts trips to the CIP tank; or a production-time sacrifice run. A dry-ice mechanical pass is a fourth option that can fit between them on equipment you can't get wet or parts you don't want to tear down — as an upstream soil-removal step, not a replacement for the wet wash and sanitizer where your plan requires them.
Where it can fit in the changeover
We don't replace the SSOP. We can replace the soil-removal step on surfaces wet wash can't reach well, can't dry fast enough, or shouldn't get wet:
- Conveyor framing, drive housings, and underside structure where dust or powder cakes into corners a foaming wand can't reach.
- Inside electrical cabinets and control panels, after lockout/tagout, where a wet wash isn't an option.
- Roller chains, sprockets, and bearing housings.
- Oven interiors, proofer racks, and bake-line exhaust hoods, between SKUs, without a long cool-down window.
- Packaging-line shrink tunnels, labelers, and case erectors.
Documentation, and what it is not
We provide a record for your own use, not a compliance certification: pre- and post-cleaning photos of each zone with the operator name and swab point ID visible, and a completion sheet matched to your changeover slot. If your team runs ATP or allergen-specific swabs before and after, we're glad to reference your results in our record — we don't set your pass thresholds and we don't represent the pass rate as a Summit-guaranteed outcome.
If a swab fails post-clean under your own program, we can re-blast the zone on the same mobilization for you to re-swab, but any pass-rate figures should come from your own QA data, not a number we publish about other accounts.
Modeling the changeover-time impact for your line
Whether a dry-ice pass shortens your changeover time depends on your current playbook, your line configuration, and your own verification requirements. Build the comparison using your last several changeovers as a baseline and our published rate for the scope — that is a model for you to run with your own numbers, not a claimed result from a named account.
What it doesn't do, and what your auditor will ask
It doesn't sanitize. CO₂ pellets remove soil; your sanitizer of record still applies afterward per your plan. It also isn't a substitute for your own visual inspection or your QA sign-off before the next run starts.
Limitations and safety
- Mechanical soil removal only — not a sanitizing step and not represented as satisfying any audit standard.
- Electrical cabinets and control panels are cleaned only after lockout/tagout per your site's procedure.
- Food-contact stainless is blasted at reduced pressure; a test patch is run first on gaskets and elastomer seals.
- CO₂ monitoring and ventilation required for indoor work.
- Dislodged dust and residue is collected on site; disposal remains the plant's responsibility.
- PPE (hearing, eye, respiratory) is used by our crew as the work requires.
Tell us the SKUs you're switching between and the slot you have to work in. We'll come walk the line and tell you honestly whether this helps, subject to a site walk and written quote.
Schedule a Changeover Walk