Hygienic Design at Anuga FoodTec 2009
Health risk as good as excluded
Producing food in a hygienically safe manner is the top priority for the food industry. Because the health of consumers should not be endangered by their products. To achieve this goal, machines and production processes must be designed according to hygienic standards. In the meantime, the food manufacturers have recognized that these measures also contribute to the optimization and thus to the profitability of their processes. The hygienic production, packaging and storage through to distribution will be comprehensively represented at Anuga FoodTec from March 10th to 13th, 2009.
Understandably, the consumer does not want harmful microorganisms or residues of cleaning agents or machine lubricants in their bread rolls, yoghurt or meat. Microorganisms in particular can spoil food and even cause diseases. The food industry must ensure that the products do not endanger the health of consumers by producing as hygienically as possible. “However, there is no such thing as 100 percent security. On the one hand, this is not theoretically possible and on the other hand, food production is too complex in practice," explains Professor Dr. Herbert J. Buckenhüskes, Head of Food Technology at the German Agricultural Society (DLG).
Food manufacturers and machine builders have been working together for a long time to develop machines that meet the extensive hygiene requirements. This includes good cleanability and the avoidance of so-called "dead spaces", i.e. corners that are difficult or impossible to reach and where food residue can remain. Choosing the right materials with which the food comes into direct contact in the machine is just as important as the lubricants used, which must be food-safe. “These points are largely taken into account today. Nevertheless, individual critical assemblies in systems and processes still hold great potential for optimization," says the DLG expert. This not only improves the hygienic conditions, but usually also the cost-effectiveness of production. These optimizations are made possible above all by advances in analytics, materials science and process engineering, as well as the possibility of simulating processes on the computer. Scientists are increasingly investigating the background of how and why particles stick to the surface and can therefore become a problem and which forces are at work.
Even stainless steel can still be optimized Stainless steel is considered to be the hygienic material par excellence for the food industry. However, this also rusts under certain conditions, for example caused by chlorides in the process water, by cleaning agents and disinfectants or by acidic foods. Rusting, in turn, makes the material more difficult to clean. What's more, it can also contaminate the food. The use of high-strength stainless steel alloys alone is sometimes not enough to solve this problem. Therefore, the metal surface is treated, for example by electropolishing, an electrochemical process. This reduces the roughness of the surface so that it offers fewer areas for attack. This also makes it free of oil and grease. professor dr Buckenhüskes: "This is an expensive measure, but it has long been common practice in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to meet the high quality requirements." But the trend in the food industry is also clearly towards even greater safety. The DLG expert: "After all, no manufacturer can afford a recall campaign for a product sold in Europe or worldwide." He also sees the surface treatment, coating and structuring with the help of nanotechnology as an interesting development. This already works very well with glass – the lotus effect in shower partitions, for example, is well known. In the case of stainless steel, however, the development has not yet progressed that far.
“Through such hygiene-improving measures, the time required and the use of chemicals when cleaning machines are significantly reduced. For food manufacturers, this holds considerable potential for reducing costs, so that they can implement the principles of hygienic design in a cost-neutral manner or even profitably," says Professor Dr. Buckenhuskes. No wonder: Up to 40 percent of changeover times in the food industry are due to cleaning processes. In order to further automate and optimize these, the industry is working on the development of special hygiene sensors. These should determine the need for cleaning and uncover any residues of cleaning agents. New methods are also being used in the design of cleaning agents: the old rule "a lot helps a lot" has long since ceased to apply, and in individual cases it has even proven to be counterproductive. Today we know that the interplay of the right selection of cleaning agents and processes as well as the materials used is crucial.
The optimization of cleaning processes is also of great interest to food manufacturers because many people suffer from allergies. Residues, i.e. allergens in food that come from previous productions, pose a problem. Such cross-contamination must be avoided. For this reason, machines and systems in critical areas such as the production of gluten-free food are sometimes only used for a single purpose. "But that usually doesn't pay off for food manufacturers in the long run," says the DLG expert.
Upstream and downstream systems must also meet hygienic requirements However, not only the core machines are subject to hygienic requirements in food production, but basically the entire process chain. This applies to packaging machines as well as belts on which food is transported openly or automation units. The hygienically perfect filling and packaging is particularly important if the food is no longer heated afterwards to preserve it. This is the case, for example, with modern foods that are in high demand, such as chilled food, i.e. fresh food from the refrigerated counter. Many plant units that are installed close to the production process, such as the drive technology of conveyor systems, are now designed according to the criteria of hygienic design. This is to prevent the risk of cross-contamination from turbulent air and dirt accumulation. There are not yet solutions for everything: The areas of production systems where electrical and pneumatic lines are laid are still to be regarded as critical.
And people remain a critical factor in the food production process. The legislature has issued many regulations and requires that employees in the industry be trained regularly. "But the superiors cannot always stand by and make sure that the hygiene regulations are observed," explains Professor Dr. Buckenhuskes. "The employees are not as easy to get a grip on as machines are." The issue of hygiene is therefore also reinforcing the trend towards a higher degree of automation in the food industry. In particular, robots are increasingly being used. These step into the breach where machines previously had problems, namely with products of different sizes, shapes and consistencies. That is why there are still many human actions in the production of meat and fish products, while the production of bread and rolls is already largely automated. But development continues: robots are now stacking sausages in plastic packaging and machines are preparing to take over the time-consuming task of peeling shrimp. "But there are still many processes in the food industry that can only be carried out manually up to now," summarizes Professor Dr. Buckenhuskes. "I'm thinking, for example, of turning and putting together roll mops."
In addition to the presentations by the exhibiting companies, the supporting program at Anuga FoodTec is also dedicated to the main topic of "Hygienic Design". In the special show "Robotik-Pack-Line", initiated by the DLG, Koelnmesse and well-known technology partners, the safe, fast and hygienic production, processing and packaging of food is presented in a fully automatic way - without a human hand being involved . In addition, the European Hygienic Equipment & Design Group (EHEDG) will deal with the topics of fresh produce and aseptic packaging as part of the Anuga FoodTec forums. Anuga FoodTec is organized jointly by Koelnmesse GmbH and the DLG (German Agricultural Society). It will take place from March 10th to 13th, 2009 in Halls 4 to 10 of Koelnmesse.
Further information on Anuga FoodTec at:
www.anugafoodtec.com - www.anugafoodtec.de
Source: Cologne [ Cologne Fair ]
