How Hygienic Design Helps with Weighing Equipment
How Does Hygienic Design Help? – Expert Answers Top 5 Questions
Bacteria contamination is a constant risk for meat producers, and hard-to-clean equipment makes the fight against contamination considerably more challenging. We asked five questions to Dr. Jürgen Hofmann, a hygienic design expert, to learn how hygienic design of equipment improves cleaning outcomes while reducing cleaning effort.
What are relevant construction criteria to consider when selecting weighing instruments or product inspection equipment?
First of all, the equipment must ensure safe and sustainable food production. It must also be suitable for the application. An instrument with a plastic housing may not fulfill the requirement of a surface roughness of less than 0.8 micrometer which is required to easily clean and get rid of microorganisms. Further, it is important to estimate a reasonable effort of the expected cleaning procedure. Lots of producers claim that their equipment can easily be cleaned. But it is worth checking that. An important point to check against is the availability of holes, cavities, or dead spaces. They should be avoided to prevent the accumulation of liquid and contaminants. Sometimes producers have a different understanding of what cavity-free or seamless fitting means.
There are instruments on the market with easy-to-clean stainless-steel surfaces mounted on a bracket with screws and cavities that ultimately increase the cleaning effort. Finding such details is not difficult. Often, it is just enough to watch a person cleaning to recognize weak points in the construction.
How does my cleaning procedure influence my instrument selection?
A practical approach is to distinguish between dry and wet applications. In a dry environment, the scales or inspection equipment need to allow direct cleaning access but are not cleaned with high-pressure water. Scales and inspection devices are usually protected up to IP65 and can be wiped down. Lifting the platter on scales to clean underneath helps a lot.
When cleaning with water, detergents, or foam, relevant hygienic guidelines have to be considered. For a wet application, scales and product-inspection equipment can be rated at IP69K for the harshest environments. All equipment must be corrosion-resistant and easy to clean, regardless of where they are placed in the production facility. Specifically, floor scales require plates that can be easily lifted for cleaning access. In case of a pit installation, a regular inspection of the draining mechanism is required.
What kind of procedures help reduce the cleaning effort?
This depends on the situation. Sometimes it is enough to check if the instruments fulfill the latest hygienic guidelines from EHEDG, NSF or from the American Meat Institute. Instruments that are already EHEDG certified usually offer reproducible cleaning results, require less cleaning time, and reduce the risk of contamination. In other more complex cases, or where the instruments are fully integrated into a production line, a risk based approach with a cleaning analysis may further help. EHEDG recently published a new guideline on cleaning validation in the food industry for processes where a significant risk of contamination is expected.
What are the latest relevant EHEDG principles and guidelines for hygienically designed equipment?
In general, hygienic design principles and guidelines should be implemented in the management systems of every company and in the style guidelines for the design of new machines and systems. Besides the new cleaning validation guideline, EHEDG is updating existing guidelines and has published two new guidelines. Those address the design of belt conveyors and define hygienic principles for food factories.
What are the upcoming trends in cleaning procedures?
I expect more automated cleaning processes to come. Robots will take over basic cleaning procedures. Furthermore, I see a trend for the food industry to offer a broader range of products. Consumers are demanding new products in shorter time frames. This requires high production flexibility with lots of product changes, which increases the risk of cross-contamination. As a consequence, new production lines have to be installed and cleaning during production needs to be increased.
5 Ways to Reduce Contamination Risk
This new pocket guide will help you check your own scales for dangerous sanitary design flaws.
It highlights five points to consider when selecting and cleaning a scale, including:
- Guidance on which design elements reduce the risk of contamination.
- 5 design elements to consider when choosing scales or checkweighers
Download the Pocket Guide
