In food manufacturing, the conveyor belt is one of the highest-risk points of contamination in the production environment. It is in constant contact with product, exposed to moisture and temperature variation, and cleaned repeatedly throughout every shift. The material and design of the belt directly affects how effectively it can be sanitised — and how much risk it introduces to food safety.
Plastic modular belting has been widely adopted across the food industry over the past few decades, largely on the basis of cost and ease of on-site repair. However, independent research has found that stainless steel wire mesh conveyor belts can deliver hygiene performance up to 100 times better than their plastic counterparts. The reason lies in fundamental material and structural differences — not just cleaning practice.
Wire Belt is a specialist manufacturer of stainless steel wire mesh conveyor belting with more than 60 years of experience in the food industry. Their Flat-Flex® belt is a widely used hygienic belting solution for food processing applications ranging from baking and cooling to freezing and coating. Advanced Packaging Systems supplies Wire Belt products in New Zealand.
Wire Belt Eye Flex
The Hygiene Problem with Plastic Modular Belts
Plastic modular belts are constructed from interlocking polymer modules joined by rods. This design creates an extensive network of hinges, joints, and rod ends — all of which are potential harborage points for bacteria, biofilm, and food debris. Even with rigorous cleaning programmes, the crevices inherent to the modular design are difficult to reach and verify as clean.
Plastics are also intrinsically porous at a microscopic level. Over time, abrasion and repeated exposure to cleaning chemicals creates micro-scratches on the belt surface where bacteria can colonise and become increasingly resistant to standard sanitisation. This degradation is difficult to observe visually and typically only detected through swab testing or when a product fails inspection.
A further practical concern is plastic particle contamination. As plastic modular belts wear, they can shed small fragments into the product stream — a foreign body risk that is particularly acute in products with a long shelf life, where contamination may only become apparent after the product has left the facility.
Why Stainless Steel Wire Mesh Performs Differently
Stainless steel is non-porous, does not harbour bacteria within the material itself, and does not degrade under repeated exposure to the cleaning chemicals used in food production environments. The smooth wire surface of a stainless steel mesh belt does not develop the micro-scratching that occurs on plastic surfaces over time.
Wire Belt’s Flat-Flex® design takes this further by eliminating unnecessary structural complexity. The belt is constructed from a continuous flat wire woven into an open mesh, with no hinges, rods, or enclosed joints where debris can accumulate. The open mesh structure — up to 86% open area in some configurations — allows cleaning chemicals and water to pass through freely, and the belt surface is fully visible and accessible for inspection and verification.
The self-draining design prevents water pooling on the belt surface between shifts, reducing the standing moisture conditions that accelerate bacterial growth. Together, these properties are why research has demonstrated hygiene performance up to 100 times better than plastic modular alternatives.
Wirebelt Flat Flex
The Wire Belt Flat-Flex®: Key Features and Specifications
The Flat-Flex® is Wire Belt’s core product and one of the most widely used stainless steel conveyor belts in the global food industry. Key characteristics include:
- Up to 86% open area: Maximises airflow, drainage, and cleaning access. Reduces cleaning time significantly compared to solid or low-open-area belts.
- Stainless steel construction: FDA and USDA compliant. Resistant to corrosion, temperature extremes, and food-grade cleaning chemicals. Does not shed particles into the product stream.
- No crevices or enclosed joints: The flat wire design eliminates the harborage points inherent to plastic modular and other belt types. Biofilm has nowhere to establish.
- High-pressure washdown resistant: The belt structure withstands repeated high-pressure cleaning without degradation, maintaining its performance and hygienic properties throughout its service life.
- Temperature range: Suitable for use across baking, cooling, and freezing applications — from high-temperature tunnel ovens to sub-zero freezer conveyors.
- Flat-Flex® XT® heavy-duty variant: A reinforced version for high-load applications, constructed with heavier gauge wire whilst retaining full FDA and USDA compliance.
Applications in Food Processing
The Flat-Flex® belt’s combination of hygienic design, temperature resistance, and open mesh structure makes it suitable across a wide range of food production processes. A single belt type can serve multiple stages of the same production line.
- Baking: The belt withstands the continuous heat of tunnel ovens and provides consistent heat transfer to the product base. Widely used for bread, biscuits, crackers, pastry, and pizza.
- Cooling: The high open area allows ambient or forced air to circulate freely around the product, achieving rapid and even cooling without the air restriction of a solid belt surface.
- Freezing: Compatible with cryogenic and mechanical freezing environments. The stainless steel construction does not become brittle at low temperatures.
- Coating and glazing: The open mesh allows excess coating, glaze, or marinade to drain through the belt, preventing pooling and ensuring even product coverage.
- Washing and draining: Self-draining design is well suited to wet processing environments. The belt does not absorb water and dries quickly between production runs.
- Packaging transfer: Provides stable, flat product support through final processing and into packaging, with consistent product orientation and minimal belt contact area.
What to Consider When Choosing a Food Processing Conveyor Belt
When evaluating conveyor belting for food processing applications, the following factors are worth assessing:
- Hygienic design certification: Does the belt design meet recognised hygienic design standards? Are there enclosed joints, crevices, or surfaces that cannot be effectively cleaned and verified?
- Material compatibility: Is the belt material resistant to the temperatures, cleaning chemicals, and moisture conditions of your specific process?
- Open area: Higher open area improves airflow, drainage, and cleaning access — but the right specification depends on the product being conveyed. Very small or lightweight products may require a tighter mesh.
- Allergen management: If your facility handles multiple allergen-containing products, how quickly and effectively can the belt be cleaned between runs? Can cleaning be verified?
- Total cost of ownership: Stainless steel belts typically have a higher upfront cost than plastic modular alternatives but a longer service life, lower replacement frequency, and reduced microbiological risk — factors that affect the true cost over time.
Sourcing Wire Belt Products in New Zealand
Advanced Packaging Systems is the authorised New Zealand partner for Wire Belt. APS supplies the full Wire Belt range — including the Flat-Flex®, Flat-Flex® XT®, Compact-Grid™, Eye-Flex®, Honeycomb, and Rolled Baking Band — with local technical support and application advice across food manufacturing, bakery, dairy, poultry, seafood, and confectionery sectors.
If you are reviewing your conveyor belting as part of a food safety upgrade, a facility redesign, or in response to audit findings, contact the APS team to discuss your application and the most appropriate Wire Belt specification for your process.
Visit the Wire Belt partner page at Advanced Packaging Systems
