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HOLLIMEX

EHEDG, 3-A, what is it about?

Why choose Hollimex? We have a lot and deliver almost everything!

HEDG, 3-A, FDA, WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

Particularly in the food and beverage industry, any risk of contamination must be prevented as much as possible. A good hygienic design of a simple machine up to and including a complete piping system is therefore of great importance for reducing the risk of contamination. It often also leads to longer shelf life dates of products.

Machines etc. must also meet various requirements regarding hygiene and food safety. The materials used or parts thereof must not be able to end up in the product. The machine must also be constructed in such a way that no product can accumulate in dead corners or ends, which can cause unwanted growth of micro-organisms. A machine must also be able to be quickly dismantled after production for cleaning and disinfection and then quickly and flawlessly reassembled. From the early 70s, people saw the need to start building machines for the dairy, food and luxury food industries according to hygienic guidelines.

A3In the United States, 3-A (Triple A) was the leader in drawing up hygiene guidelines. Due to the veto right of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in 3-A, the FDA also plays an important role in this. For process equipment in Europe, it was companies such as Unilever, Kraft, Heinz and Nestle, who set their own requirements.

The Camden Food & Drinks Research Association formed the first "(EHEDG) Main Group" in Europe in 1984. This was a group of representatives from the machinery industry, food and beverage industry, research institutes, universities and governments.

 

ehedgEHEDG - The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group was founded in 1989. It is a consortium of equipment and machinery manufacturers, food and beverage producers, suppliers, research institutes and public health authorities. The main objective of EHEDG is to promote food safety by improving hygienic engineering and design in all aspects of food production and packaging. EHEDG actively supports European legislation. This legislation requires that food handling, preparation, processing and packaging is carried out using hygienic equipment and machinery in a hygienic environment.

cenThe European Commission has commissioned CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) and CENELEC (Comité Européen de Normalisation Electronique) to draw up norms and standards for the design of food-safe process equipment. EHEDG is represented in the technical committee 'Food Processing Machinery, safety and hygienic specifications' of CEN, which uses the EHEDG recommendations as a starting point for drawing up the specific standards. The EHEDG, from the industry, prescribes the guideline that machines in the food and luxury food industry and also in the pharmaceutical industry must comply with in order to allow hygienic production. Their working method is comparable to the American 3-A (Triple A). Because food safety does not stop at the borders of Europe, work is being done on a global harmonisation of guidelines and standards. EHEDG and the American organisations NSF and 3-A have agreed to cooperate in the development of guidelines.

According to the directive, machines, process equipment, etc. must be designed and built in such a way that the risk of infection, disease and contamination for the consumer is prevented. Two official standards have been written in response to this directive, namely NEN-EN 1672-2 and ISO 14159. Read more on euronorm.net. Furthermore, machines must also comply with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

Users of machines, process equipment, etc., that are produced according to the above-mentioned guidelines, may therefore assume that the equipment also meets the legal requirements and/or guidelines. In addition, most guidelines require the supply of a comprehensive user manual with all the information the user needs to be able to handle the product safely.

EHEDG, 3-A GUIDELINES WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Apart from product quality, the main objective of the directive is the prevention of micro-organisms and microbial contamination. This can be achieved by improving hygienic engineering and design in all aspects of food production.

During the production, processing and packaging of products, the products can be contaminated with (negative) micro-organisms. Machines, process equipment etc. that are intended for aseptic processes must therefore be impermeable to micro-organisms.  

What are microorganisms?

Bacteria, fungi, viruses and yeasts are all micro-organisms. They are living organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye. They live all around us. The first three in this list in particular evoke negative associations. They can contaminate or spoil a product in such a way that you notice it immediately. The product often stinks or tastes sour, is slimy or discoloured. Sometimes, however, a product can make you sick without the product being immediately recognisable as a pathogen. Micro-organisms can cause all kinds of diseases. Think of Salmonella, Campylobacter, E-coli, botulism and Bacillus cereus.

But don't worry. Every person has a range of bacteria, microbes and fungi in their body. The air you breathe also contains micro-organisms and many products would not exist without the action of these organisms. Bread needs yeast to rise, yoghurt needs bacteria and cheese needs fungi. In these cases, micro-organisms help us to create a completely different product, which is not only edible, but often also tastier.

In short, micro-organisms play a major role in the food and beverage industry, both positively and negatively, and this must therefore remain well manageable.

What is a microbial contamination?

Microbial contamination is also called cross-contamination. This involves the contamination of a product by another product. If a non-contaminated product (does not contain micro-organisms) comes into contact with a contaminated product (contains micro-organisms), this is called cross-contamination. For example, cutting vegetables (not contaminated) on a cutting board on which raw chicken has previously been processed. (contaminated)

Some criteria from the EHEDG guidelines for the hygienic design and construction of process equipment are:

  • determination of the target group
  • determination of normal conditions of use
  • batch processes or continuous processes
  • the type of product. Dry or wet
  • the throughput speed of the product during the process
  • the materials used must be insensitive to the product, cleaning agents and disinfectants. They must be corrosion-resistant, mechanically stable and may not be toxic (poisonous) and absorbent
  • Surfaces that the product comes into contact with must have a roughness value of Ra ≤ 0,8 µm. Note that a lower roughness value often affects the cleanability. At 0,3 µm the critical point has been reached where flow problems can occur
  • cleanability, effect of surface structure and smoothness, accumulation and/or sticking of product residues
  • no metal to metal connections (except welding)
  • resistance to dehydration, oil, grease and preservatives
  • no sharp but rounded corners
  • no dead spaces, gaps or protrusions
  • the equipment and piping system must be drainable and must not contain any irregularities
  • proper use of seals and gaskets
  • no threaded connections in places where the product may be located
  • correct welding process (orbital welding with sufficient backing gas)
  • Key parts and weak points of the equipment must be accessible for inspection and/or validation.

However, it may happen that the requirements are at odds with the functional requirements. Provided that food safety is never compromised, an acceptable compromise may be chosen. However, to compensate for such compromises, more intensive cleaning and disinfection procedures will have to be followed.

For a detailed explanation, please read the EHEDG Guidelines!

Since January 1, 2005, there is the GFL (General Food Law). This regulation comes from the European Union and indicates that the food producer is responsible for his own production process. In addition, issues such as PED, regulations regarding pressure, especially when it comes to pressure tanks, ATEX, CE marking and the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) play a role. The latter is a method to look closely at the critical points within the production process. Particularly where they pose a risk to food safety.

With the knowledge of the above and the knowledge that legislation will play an increasingly important role in this in the future, more and more food producers decide that complete piping systems must be designed and built in accordance with, among others, the EHEDG guidelines.

EHEDG_QH-Plus_HOLLIMEX

HOLLIMEX'S “QH-Plus” DAIRY PROGRAM MEETS EHEDG AND FDA GUIDELINES!

For years, Hollimex has been supplying a range of dairy tubes and process components that meet EHEDG and FDA guidelines. We supply these products mostly under our own name “QH-Plus"Very recognizable and traceable for you.

Products manufactured according to DIN11866 (pipes), DIN11865 (weld fittings), DIN11864 (couplings and flanges), DIN11853 (couplings and flanges), DIN32676 (clamp couplings) and BS4825 also often comply with this. These must then be in the DIN H3 or H4 version. Hollimex can supply you with a range of process components with an average internal surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0,8 µm. (DIN 4768 table 3) This includes dairy pipes, welded connections, coupling connections, clamp connections, filters, (butterfly) valves, valves, flanges, etc.

The welded dairy tubes and welded joints are available in pickled, ground or polished finishes, in qualities 304L/1.4307 and 316L/1.4404.

The welded dairy tubes are available in both annealed and unannealed. If the tube is not bent, an unannealed version is usually sufficient.

The welded tubes are not available in a bright version because a bright annealed tube is often not clean and can contain metal particles. This can have a negative effect on the corrosion protection skin and can cause discolouration. However, the surface roughness increases again due to the pickling process. That is why these tubes are often only pickled for a short time. This is also popularly called lightly pickled. The quality of these tubes is above the quality as stated in DIN11850 and EN10357.

Some advantages are:

  • suitable for orbital welding
  • the surface qualities of the pipes and fittings are closer together
  • visually all components often fit together better
  • the low internal average roughness value (Ra ≤ 0,8 µm) reduces the risk of rust formation and microbial contamination of foodstuffs
  • better cleanability due to the smooth surface
  • reduced costs for maintenance, energy and cleaning products
  • You produce safely and hygienically according to the standards that apply to food-safe production with certified components.

Most products are available directly from stock.

Certificates are available according to EN 10204 3.1. Sometimes (2.1 or 2.2) declarations are also possible for the measured internal Ra value.

csm_caps_caps_stainless_steel_aaf37d3cb2   

To prevent contamination and/or damage, the pipes and welded connections can also be fitted with plastic protective caps or plugs at the ends by Hollimex and packed in plastic packaging.

All our sealing rings and seat rings comply with, among others, the EU1935 / 2004 and FDA regulations.

This includes seals and seat rings in NBR, HNBR, EPDM, IIR, SIL(VMQ), KZ(FFKM) and FPM(FKM), as well as seals in PTFE(Teflon).

EU1935/2004 - Regulation on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

EU2023/2006 - Regulation on good manufacturing practice for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

For rubber parts: FDA CFR21 / §177.2600 (Rubber intended for repeated use)

For PTFE parts: EU10/2011 and FDA CFR21/§177.1550

All sealing rings and seat rings that come into contact with food must be thoroughly cleaned before use.

SLOT

Hollimex has with her own "QH-Plus" package the total delivery program has been greatly expanded. The package complies with the latest European guidelines and standards! More and more companies are finding their way to Hollimex and experiencing the possibilities and convenience. Our total package, knowledge, processing and distribution options allow us to respond quickly and objectively to your needs. This has made us increasingly interesting for end users, engineering firms, contractors, installers and piping contractors, among others.

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Hollimex: technical wholesaler with a wide range of metals, plastics and tools. Direct delivery, customization and flexible logistics. Independent family business with over 40 years of experience.
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