Efficient grain management is essential to food security, and large-scale storage facilities such as silos play a critical role. However, the biological nature of grains presents challenges during storage that pose risks to food safety if not handled carefully.
The biggest risk during storage is insect infestation. According to FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 80 percent of post-harvest losses are caused by weevils. Another concern is the development of fungi, which can occur when moisture reaches 14 percent or more.
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🛡 Reduce the risk of contamination: To minimize the risk of contamination, adopting exclusion techniques, such as physical barriers or caulk, helps seal gaps and cracks. Thoroughly cleaning grains removes impurities and ensures a consistent batch minimizing the risk of insects and bacteria. Storing uniform grains also limits moisture variations and different temperature requirements.
🌡 Constant monitoring: Temperature changes can indicate insect or mold activity, so monitoring temperature fluctuations and respiration rates is key to catching problems early.
🌀 Aeration and cooling: Proper aeration and grain cooling equipment control silo temperatures, creating an inhospitable environment for insects and fungi. This also eliminates the risk of “hot spots” caused by unwanted biological activity.
𖣘 Controlled, energy-efficient drying: Climatic changes make the harvest period more intensive and demanding in high throughput and reliable operation. Cimbria offers a full range of continuous-flow dryers with capacities matching individual site requirements. Our dryers are suitable for heating using traditional fossil fuels or renewable heat sources like biomass.
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By implementing our turnkey solution, we will design a complete setup from intake equipment with grain cleaning and drying to sophisticated storage facilities with temperature control and inventory monitoring to meet your specific drying and storage needs.
Cimbria offers a range of cleaning and storage solutions including square silos, flat-bottom silos and hopper-bottom grain storage solutions that can be designed specifically for your grain type, as each grain requires a different environment. Choose Cimbria for your grain storage solutions and ensure the highest standards of food safety and efficiency. In comments:
Learn more about Cimbria's grain storage solutions here.
