Yearbook 2013/2014 - ehedg

Hygienic automation technology in food production 119
The fundamental challenge of cleaning
All manufacturers are liable for their products. In the food and
beverage industry, complete product safety, especially from
a microbiological standpoint, must be ensured to protect the
consumer. As such, one important aspect involves designing
components and systems with hygiene and ease of cleaning
in mind in order to guarantee exemplary cleanliness, shortest
possible cleaning times and minimal expense.
To avoid drives failing in aggressive environments, for
example, the component materials must have certain
qualities that make them suitable for reliably withstanding
the prevailing ambient conditions, as well as guaranteeing
full functionality and a long service life. This applies to both
the materials used for the drive unit and those used for
interface components, such as connections and seals.
Seals and lubricants that comply with FDA regulations
must be used for system components that come into
contact with food. Depending on the requirements of the
specific application, there is a choice of valve types either
for normal cleaning or for applications using intensive foam
cleaning. Intensive cleaning of machine parts also can
wash out the lubricating grease and impair the operation
of the components. Using dry-running seals ensures that
the washed out machine components still function reliably
(Figure 4).
Figure 4: Dry-running seals are indispensable for a reliable
functionality, even when the lubricant has been washed out.
Clean and safe!
Many potential sources of contamination in food and
packaging systems such as bacteria, chemical influences
or corrosion particles in the factory can be eliminated with
just a few design tweaks. Easy-to-clean, corrosion-resistant
system components make food production safer.
When buying food, the consumer expects high-quality
products that have been hygienically produced, dispensed
and packaged by the food industry. That is why customerspecific
process and factory automation solutions are an
important part of any hygienic value-added chain.
Table 1. Important European standards and legislation pertaining
to hygienic design of equipment and components used in food
production environments.
2006/42/EC
ISO 21469
EN 1672-2
ISO14159
EHEDG Doc 8
EHEDG Doc 10
EHEDG Doc 13
1935/2004/EC
Plastics Directive
10/2011
FDA CFR 21
Festo
Directive 2006/42/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 17
May 2006 on machinery, and amending
Directive 95/16/EC (recast)
Safety of machinery – Lubricants with
incidental product contact – Hygiene
requirements
Food processing machinery – Basic
concepts – Part 2: Hygiene requirements
Safety of machinery - Hygiene requirements
for the design of machinery (IS=
141:2002)
Hygienic equipment design criteria
Hygienic design of closed equipment
for processing of liquid food
Hygienic design of open equipment for
processing of food
Regulation (EC) NO 1935/2004 of the
European Parliament and of the Council
of 27 October 2004 on materials
and articles intended to come into contact
with food and repealing Directives
80/590/EEC and 89/109/EEC
Commission regulation (EU) No
10/2011 of 14 January 2011 on plastic
materials and articles intended to come
into contact with food
Food & Drugs, Part 11 “Electronic
Records, Electronic Signatures”
Product overview for the food and
beverage industry, 7 th edition