How has the HACCP concept affected the hygienic design of equipment?

The basis of hygienic design is the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) concept, which also plays a key role in the Polish food industry. Its roots go back to 1959, when it was developed in the US to ensure food safety for astronauts. Today, HACCP is recommended by Codex Alimentarius, and since 2006, compliance with the EU hygiene package, including the HACCP guidelines, is also required in Poland - a necessity for every food product for sale and import in the European Union.

What does the HACCP concept include?

The HACCP concept is a preventive system designed to ensure food and consumer safety. In practice, the steps of the production process are analyzed to determine whether a food hazard exists. If one is identified, it must be evaluated. Once the assessment is complete, a measure is identified that eliminates or reduces the hazard or critical point and controls it. The HACCP concept, anchored in the aforementioned EU hygiene package, must be reviewed (verified) and documented at regular intervals. As a general rule of thumb: the higher the risk potential of a process, the greater the effort required for verification and documentation. At the same time, this also means that the lower the risk potential of a production process, the shorter the time required for verification and the lower the associated costs.

Therefore, it is important to start the implementation of the HACCP concept for the production process with the introduction of “Good Hygiene and Production Practices” (GHP). This is because the design and construction of the production process can lead to critical points, such as attrition, being easily overlooked. Such critical points can be avoided through proper layout ─ hygienic design.

What does hygienic design mean for plant and component manufacturers?

In the food industry, regulations require equipment that is easy to clean. In addition, cost and environmental aspects, which can be affected by the design of installations suitable for cleaning, are playing an increasingly important role. For this reason, the topic of “hygienic design” plays an important role for plant and component manufacturers.

Working in accordance with hygienic design, plant and component manufacturers must adhere to the following criteria:

• Use of physiologically safe materials (316L stainless steel, PEEK, etc.).
• High surface quality (Ra ≤ 0.8 µm)
• Use of FDA-listed materials
• Use of gaskets suitable for the process
• Gap-free design of the measurement technology/plant
• Rounded angles, no corners or edges
• Assembly of measuring technology without voids or gaps
• Cleanable and sterilizable (suitable for CIP/SIP)
• Leakage hole on the process connection to indicate seal failure

Regardless of the plant design and components of the measurement technology, how the measurement technology is installed in the plant is extremely important. Because even a hygienically certified sensor can be installed in such a way that the entire measuring point becomes unhygienic. The following aspects are particularly important in the context of hygienic design:

- Which process connection is used?

- How is the measuring technology installed (for example: cavityless, ring gapless, self-draining)?

- At what angle to the product stream is the measuring technology installed?

How to save costs with hygienic design?

We've already mentioned the reduced work involved in verifying hygienically designed installations. Other advantages of hygienic design include:

- Savings in cleaning agent costs due to easy-to-clean components

- Longer production time due to less contamination

- Time savings due to shorter cleaning periods

- Fewer defective batches due to contamination/contamination

- Reduced spare parts costs due to uniform process connections

JUMO has an ever-growing product portfolio in all areas of sensor technology for its customers. The JUMO PEKA adapter system, which is designed and certified according to EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group) guidelines, is a leader in this field.Temperature, pressure and conductivity measuring devices are equipped with this system

Summary

A plant built according to hygienic principles - and equipped with measurement technology that also conforms to hygiene requirements - allows a food manufacturer to reduce costs in various areas.

JUMO is actively contributing to cost reduction in the food industry with its measurement technology. Relevant topics such as the materials used, process connections and the installation of measurement technology are always top priority and will continue to meet the industry's requirements.

About the author

My name is Ewelina Szmit and I have been working in content marketing for several years, combining my professional skills with my passion for writing. I am convinced that even the most technical topics can be presented in an interesting and accessible way for everyone. Outside of work, I unleash my creativity by creating newspaper collages. I like to spend my free time being active, walking my dog or running.

Comments

We encourage you to leave your comments via the form below. They will be posted online once they have been approved through our review process.