How Does Hygienic Design Help? Expert Answers Top 5 …...hygienic design expert. He has a...

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Meat, Poultry and Seafood

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

improve cleaning outcomes while reducing cleaning effort.

How Does Hygienic Design Help?Expert Answers Top 5 Questions

the accumulation of liquid and contam-inants. Sometimes producers have a dif-ferent understanding what cavity-free or seamless fitting means.

There are instruments on the market with easy-to-clean stainless-steel sur-faces 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 be-tween dry and wet applications.

What are relevant construction criteria to consider when select-ing weighing instruments or prod-uct inspection equipment? First of all, the equipment must ensure safe and sustainable food production and it must be suitable for the application. An instrument with a plastic housing may not fulfill the requirement of a sur-face roughness of less than 0.8 microme-ter that is required to easily clean and get rid of microorganisms. Further it is im-portant 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

Industrial Weighing & Product Inspection

METTLER TOLEDO Meat, Poultry and Seafood News 21

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nIn a dry environment, the scales or in-spection equipment need to allow di-rect cleaning access, but are not cleaned with high-pressure water. Scales and in-spection 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 applica-tion, scales and product-inspection equip-ment can be rated at IP69K for the harsh-est 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. And 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 reproduc-ible cleaning results, require less clean-ing time and reduce the risk of contam-ination. In other more complex cases, or where the instruments are fully in-tegrated into a production line, a risk-based approach with a cleaning analysis may further help. EHEDG recently pub-lished a new guideline on cleaning vali-dation in the food industry for processes where a significant risk of contamination is expected.

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Publisher / ProductionMettler-Toledo GmbHIndustrial DivisionHeuwinkelstrasseCH-8606 NänikonSwitzerland

Subject to technical changes© 02/2017 Mettler-Toledo GmbH

Dr. Jürgen HofmannHofmann studied food technolo-gy and works as a self-employed hygienic design expert. He has a lectureship for Hygienic Design at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland and at the TH Karlsruhe, Germany.

He is a member of the Subcom Product Portfolio of the Europe-an Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG). He is a profes-sional trainer on the topic of hy-gienic design and was nominated as an EHEDG-authorized trainer.

Cooked meat and fish Top three non-conformity %Equipment Design and Placement 17.8

Documenting Cleaning Procedures 17.3

Walls 15.5

Raw red meat Top three non-conformity %Documenting Cleaning Procedures 18.7

Door Maintenance 16.1

Equipment Design and Placement 15.2

The top three non-conformities for raw red meat and cooked meat and fish. Food Safety – A Global View. 2015, BRC Global Standards.

METTLER TOLEDO Meat, Poultry and Seafood News 21 3

What are the latest relevant EHEDG principles and guidelines for hy-gienically 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 convey-ors and define hygienic principles for food factories.

What are the upcoming trends in cleaning procedures? I expect more automated cleaning pro-cesses 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-contam-ination. As a consequence, new produc-tion lines have to be installed or cleaning during production needs to be increased.

www.mt.com/hygienic-design-mp

5 Ways to Reduce Contamination Risks

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: www.mt.com/ind-5-ways-to-reduce-contamination-mp

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5 Ways to Reduce Contamination Risks

Hygienic Design Pocket Guide


HDS pipeline metal detectors inspect sausage products.

Double InspectionDetect the Smallest Metal Contaminants

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Perfect sausages should be meaty and flavorful – and without contaminants. However,

there is always the risk that small metal fragments could make their way into the produc-

tion process. A German manufacturer uses two types of metal-detection technology to en-

sure products are metal-free and to support compliance with the food-safety standards.

HDS Pipeline system integrates and works with our vacuum filler,” says Giersch. “Our working environment is harsh, so the robust mechanical design and easy-to-clean construction is important.”

“We want to offer our custo-mers the highest quality

products, so we are certified to the International Featured Standard for Food (IFS),”

The company offers its customers a wide range of products, which means that flex-ibility in the production process is criti-cal. With up to seven batch change-overs daily, the HDS Pipeline system is capa-ble of processing the entire product range with a single high-sensitivity setting. That saves set-up time and production costs; any new batch can be processed immedi-ately without resetting.

Packaged product inspectionGiersch also installed in-line metal de-tectors at the end of its production line to provide further monitoring. Metal de-

Giersch GmbH & Co. KG produces high-quality sausages and roasted and grilled meats using the latest processing technol-ogy. “We want to offer our customers the highest quality products, so we are certi-fied to the International Featured Stan-dard for Food (IFS),” says Oliver Giersch, the company’s managing director.

Product quality and consumer protection are paramount. That’s why Giersch uses METTLER TOLEDO’s product inspection solutions.

Inspection early in the processThere are many advantages to inspect-ing the sausage meat early in the pro-cess. Metal contaminants are detected before the product is packaged and ad-ditional value is added. It also helps the company generate less waste. Ad-ditionally, METTLER TOLEDO products are designed with integration and easy cleaning in mind.

“In addition to its simple set-up and oper-ation, we were impressed by how well the


tectors from the Profile range ensure that all Giersch’s packaged products are metal-free. The conveyor-mounted detec-tors use proven technology and are capa-ble of finding the smallest ferrous, non-ferrous metals and stainless-steel metal fragments.

The detectors achieve high performance despite the challenge of the “product ef-fect,” a phenomena common when in-specting wet or conductive products for metal contamination. The Profile metal

Package products are inspected with a conveyor-mounted Profile rectangular metal detector.

Understanding Challenging Applications - How to Improve Metal Detector Performance

Find out more about the challenges of the product effect and inspecting wet, conductive products.

Download our White Paper: www.mt.com/md-advantageplus-mp

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Understanding Challenging Applications for Improved Metal Detection

Contents

1. How a Metal Detector Works

1.1 Balanced Coil System

1.2 How Metal Affects the Balance Condition of the Metal Detector

1.3 Magnetic Fields, Conductivity, Permeability and Eddy Currents

2. Product Effect Explained

2.1 Factors that Influence Product Effect

2.1.1 Moisture Content

2.1.2 Temperature

2.1.3 Size and Shape of the Products

2.1.4 The Position and Orientation of the Product Through the Detector

2.1.5 Consistency and Density of the Product

2.1.6 Packaging Material

3. What is a 'Dry' Product?

4. Dealing With Product Effect

4.1 Low Versus High Frequency

4.2 Phase Discrimination

4.3 Multi-Simultaneous-Frequency Metal Detectors

5. Summary

SAFELINEMetal Detection

detector supports IFS compliance by col-lecting process data, including key set-tings, reject rates and operator access data.

Essential for quality controlThe metal-detection solutions are essen-tial elements of the quality-control pro-gram. They avoid the risk of non-compli-ant products reaching consumers and the potential for costly product recalls, which could damage the Giersch brand.

“We have used metal detectors from METTLER TOLEDO for many years,” ex-plains Giersch. “I’m confident they detect all metal contaminants before they leave our facility.”

www.mt.com/md-hds-pipeline-mp

www.mt.com/md-profileadvantage-mp


It is the food producer’s responsibility to decide what those regulations mean for their production. When investing in new equipment, it’s important to evaluate po-tential contamination risks.

The guidelines from a legal standpoint are clear. If a food producer follows Inter-national Organization for Standardiza-tion or U.S. Food and Drug Administration norms, all food handling, preparation, processing and packaging should be done

hygienically with hygienic machinery in hygienic premises. Similar guidance is included in global food quality and safety standards, including BRC Global Stan-dards, NSF International, IFS, or for FSSC 22 000 Food Safety System Certification.

Grow the BusinessHygienic Design is the Foundation

When choosing equipment for food processing, many internal and external requirements

must be considered. Selecting an instrument that does not fulfill the intended use or hygienic

requirements may lead to a cause for non-conformity in an audit. In the worst case, it could

even cause a product recall. If chosen well, it could help you grow your business.Hyg

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Designed for Fast Washdown PFA779lift Floor Scale • Hygienically designed• Liftable deck plate for easy

cleaning access• Open cross-rib construction• Designed for easy washdown

Meets Hygienic Standards PBA430 Platform• Meets the highest sanitary

standards• Designed for heavy washdown • Hygienically designed • EHEDG, NSF, GMP certified

Secure Batch TrackingIND780 Filling Terminal• Manual and fully-automatic

batching and filling• Tracking and traceability of

material, lot and batch• Conformity to food safety

regulations• Print functions

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Safe handling of liquid eggs Scottish egg producer Glenrath Farms produces more than a million of eggs every day for British supermarkets. The company focuses on high-quality prod-ucts, is certified by BRC and complies with other British food standards. When ex-panding the business with the production of liquid eggs, it was essential for Glen-rath to further comply with these stan-dards. That’s why they consequently re-quired hygienically designed equipment in their facilities.

Liquid eggs need to be processed in sani-tary facilities because liquid egg is a high-care product. Glenrath Farms needed an easy-to-use solution to fill their pasteur-ized liquid eggs into one-ton containers. The solution needed to match their qual-ity and sanitary requirements and provide clear process traceability.

Hygienic Designed Floor Scales

This white paper provides guidance to select the right hygienically de-signed floor scale and offers rec-ommendations on how to speed up cleaning procedure.

Download our White Paper: www.mt.com/ind-wp-food-hygienic-design-mp

Contents

1 Food contact surfaces

2 Materials

3 Surface texture and/or finish

4 Functional requirements

5 Construction and fabrication

6 Internal angles/permanent joints

7 Testing

8 Summary

9 Additional resources

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nHygienic Designed Food Scales

Less Contamination and Enhanced Profits

In today’s global market, in an effort to ensure safety, weighing equipment constructionmust follow international guidelines based on EHEDG, NSF and 3-A standards.These standards encompass issues such as equipment surfaces, materials and design.

Contaminated food processing equipment has beenresponsible for a number of major food poisoning out-breaks.It also accounts for innumerable instances ofproduct spoilage and quality defects.

In some cases, these events result from a failure tomaintain, clean, or operate equipment hygienically;in others, the fault is found in the design of the equip-ment itself. Either way, the results can be catastrophicfor consumers and food producers.

To ensure safe food, equipment used for food process-ing must be designed and installed according to sound sanitary design principles. Equipment must allow effi-cient cleaning and sanitizing, and surface materials must resist exposure to corrosive food products and cleaning chemicals.

This paper highlights several of the the most importantfood processing equipment aspects that are relevant tobench- or floor-scale design to ensure food safety,reduce spoilage, and enhance profits.

METTLER TOLEDO Meat, Poultry and Seefood News 21

Hygienically designed solutions They invested in a PFA779 hygienically designed floor scale with an IND780 fill-ing terminal. In order not to destroy the sealed floor, the scale is not mounted in a pit, but instead is installed on the ground with direct access to all parts for efficient cleaning. The filling process is supported by an IND780 filling and batching ter-minal that guides the operator through the process and provides material track-ing and print functions. Glenrath Farms chose the right weighing and filling so-lution for their strict hygienic require-ments that helped them further expand their business with high-quality products.

www.glenrathfarms.co.uk www.mt.com/hygienic-design-mp


Ten Years Reliably Testing Moisture Content in Chicken Soup

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A Chinese company tests the moisture content of its popular chicken bouillon powder 18

hours a day, six days a week. Five HG63 moisture analyzers have been operated continu-

ously in this tough environment for nearly 10 years. Recent tests, undertaken by the com-

pany, confirm that the instruments continue to deliver highly reliable results.

102°C with moisture content values of ~0.8% declared as the target value. The repeatability values, with several samples measured under the same conditions on each instrument were all excellent at less than 0.03%. The overall mean moisture content, measured with the same sample but on different instruments, was 0.797% with a standard deviation of 0.032 so clearly in line with the 0.8% target. After seeing these results, quality control man-agers had full confidence that they were meeting moisture content targets, thus ensuring their soup’s shelf life, consis-tency and flavor. Such solid performance is a testament to the durability and accu-racy of METTLER TOLEDO instruments

Optimum moisture content is essential to granulated chicken bouillon quality and shelf-life. With five moisture analyz-ers in operation, and each test taking ten minutes, the test is carried out 500 times each day.

Under these strenuous conditions, METTLER TOLEDO HG63 moisture an-alyzers have provided quality manag-ers with high durability and repeatable performance for years. However, as their fleet of analyzers approached their 10th birthday, plant management had a de-sire to test the performance of these work-horses to ensure they were still function-ing reliably.

Testing for accuracyUnder the direction of Product Manager Claas Boerger, the company performed an equipment trial so plant managers could be sure about their analyzers’ perfor-mance. To gauge analyzer performance, quality managers were guided through a series of 30 tests, each comprised of six measurements per machine. Comparing measurements given by the same instru-ment provided a measure of repeatabil-ity; comparing measurements across all five provided a measure of reproducibility.

Using the same batch of boullion, 8 g samples were placed on 10-minute cy-cles at a standard drying temperature of

Samples ready for processing Moisture analyzers in the QC lab are work-ing 24 hours a day, six days a week.

QC managers are satisfied with the perfor-mance of their moisture analyzers and SmartCal.


over time. This carefully-guided analysis proved that all machines continue to pro-vide the reliable results necessary to keep the plant and quality managers happy.

Plans for the futureIn addition, METTLER TOLEDO recom-mended the use of their standard refer-ence test substance, SmartCal™, as part of the company’s ongoing quality man-agement program. SmartCal contains a defined amount of moisture and, with a simple 10-minute drying program, can verify moisture analyzer performance. Logging SmartCal test results is an ideal way to monitor moisture analyzer perfor-mance over time and provides an early in-dication of whether performance may be drifting out-of-specification. With Smart-Cal samples in hand, quality managers can test their machines at any time, giv-ing them full confidence in their results.

www.mt.com/safeline-HDS-mp

www.mt.com/profile-mp

Visit our website for information on our new generation of halogen moisture analyz-ers – the same traditional build quality but with the newest technologies.

www.mt.com/moisture-mp


Inspecting processed meats, pastes and slurries in pipelines allows you to remove contam-

inants early in the process before adding further value to the product. Metal detection and

x-ray technologies both work well, but how do you choose the right technology for your ap-

plication?

of the various technologies. So how do you go about making a decision?

Metal detection or x-ray?Metal-detection or x-ray technology can be used when inspecting meat or pro-cessed products, such as ground meat pastes, or de-boned fillets, such as chicken

In food-processing applications at risk of physical contamination, the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards clearly state the need for the installation of effec-tive product inspection equipment. Most of the standards give only guidance on the types of technology that can be em-ployed. They do not explain the benefits

Inspecting Pumped ProductsMaking the Right Technology Choice

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breasts and thighs, in process pipelines. The choice of technology depends on the application and the types of contamina-tion that may be present.

Process review: The starting pointMetal detection and x-ray inspection offer differing capabilities. The first step in

Removing Metal ContaminantsProfile Advantage pipeline metal detectors can be integrated into process lines and detect all metal contaminants including ferrous, non-ferrous and difficult-to-detect stainless steels.

Integrating with Vacuum FillersHDS pipeline metal detectors are designed for close integration with a wide range of vacuum fillers to ensure sausages are free of metal contaminants.

Detecting other ContaminantsX38 pipeline x-ray inspection sys-tems detect a wide range of con-taminants, including glass, min-eral stone, calcified bone, rubber, dense plastics and all metals.


making the choice is to conduct a Haz-ard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) review to identify which technol-ogy is the ideal product inspection solution for you. The audit should take into account any compliance-related issues driven by customers or industry standards.

A HACCP analysis identifies the types of contamination likely to be introduced during the manufacturing process. Crit-ical Control Points (CCPs) should be es-tablished to mitigate the risks and product inspection equipment should then be in-stalled at those points to reduce the risk of contamination to acceptable levels.

Broad guidanceMetal detectors are the most cost-effective solution for finding only metal contami-nants. A metal detector normally takes up less space than an x-ray-inspection sys-tem. For applications in which installa-

tion space is limited and metal is the only likely contaminant, a metal detector is likely to be the best solution.

If other contaminants, such as glass, mineral stone, calcified bone or high-density rubber and plastics, are likely to be encountered along with metals, then x-ray technology is the best solution. Con-sideration also needs to be given to other equipment and processes taking place around the point of inspection. For exam-ple, in sausage manufacturing processes, it may be possible to integrate inspection solutions with vacuum-filler equipment.

Our engineers have extensive knowledge and experience with typical pipeline pro-cess-inspection applications. They can provide you advice on the ideal location for CCPs and the best technology choice.

www.mt.com/pi-mp

Improving Food Safety Inspection of Pumped Products

More in-depth information about choosing the right inspection system for pipeline applications can be found in our white paper.

How to make the right choice www.mt.com/pi-pumpedfoods-mp

Metal Detection & X-ray Inspection

Improving Food Safety Inspection of Pumped Products

Contents

1. Why Submit Pumped Foods to Product Inspection

2. Introduction to Metal Detection and X-ray Inspection

3. Factors Affecting the Sensitivity of Product Inspection Equipment on

Pumped Food Lines

4. Which Technology - Metal Detection, X-ray Inspection or Both?

5. Establishing Critical Control Points for a Product Inspection System on a

Pumped Food Line

6. Typical Applications of Pumped Product Inspection

7. Factors to Consider when Installing Product Inspection Equipment on a

Pumped Food Line

8. Conclusion

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www.mt.com/ind-mpFor more informations

pcs

Mettler-Toledo GmbHIndustrial DivisionCH-8606 Nänikon, Switzerland

Local contact: www.mt.com/contacts

MTSI 30313196

No SurprisesReal-time Equipment Monitoring

Don’t wait for Industry 4.0 to happen. Start monitoring the performance of your weighing equipment today with InTouchSM Remote Services. Connected scales send proactive alerts that enable you to immediately respond to performance issues.

Increase uptime and ensure consistent measurement quality.

For more information about Real-time Equipment Monitoring visit:

www.mt.com/ind-intouch-remote-mp

Security without Compromise• ISO27001-2013 certification• User authentication and access

control• No changes to existing IT

or security infrastructure

Efficient Equipment Management• Real-time equipment status

information• Fact-based timing of preventive

maintenance activities

Improved Performance Control• On-going monitoring of

measuring performance• Periodic asset status reports

to optimize processes

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