Sanitization : Materials and sanitary

features of the dairy equipment

P. S. Minz

Outline
Hygiene and sanitation
Is hygiene important?
General hygiene practices
Hygienic plant design
Hygienic equipment design

Hygiene
Cleanliness
Contamination free
Preventive measures/apporach
Disease free

Conditions for food safety

Proper CIP

Sanitation

Hygiene
Diseases could be overcome, either by actively curing (Asclepius) or
through the power of cleanliness (Hygeia).
Curing diseases with the use of medicines was traditionally the role
of the physician. Preventing diseases, on the other hand, became
the domain of the hygienist.
People understood hygiene as healing through cleanliness and
as science dealing with the preservation and promotion of health.

Preventive measures were the only way to produce safe food, and
the discipline of food hygiene was born
All conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety and
suitability of food at all stages of the food chain

Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through
prevention of human contact with the hazards . Hazards can be
either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of
disease.

Is Hygiene Important?

Pasteurization of milk destroys Salmonella and currently is the only

effective means of control for milk. However, inadequate
pasteurization or contact with raw milk after pasteurization can result
in contaminated milk. In one pasteurized milk outbreak in 1985,
there were more than 16,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of
salmonellosis and several deaths

General Hygiene Practice (GHP)

One of the first safety systems developed by the food industry was
that involving the application of good manufacturing practice (GMP),
as a supplement to end product testing.
GMP also provide a framework for hygienic food production, which
is often referred to as good hygienic practice (GHP).
Good hygienic practices should be applied throughout the food
chain so that milk and milk products are safe and suitable for their
intended use.

Major component of GHP

Design of premises and equipment
Control of the production process
Plant maintenance and cleaning
Personal hygiene
Transportation
Product information and consumer awareness
Staff training

Hygienic Plant Design

Non-production areas
'Hygienic/low-risk' areas

'High risk' areas

Non-production areas
These are areas where there is no risk of contaminating
manufactured or pasteurized products, or areas where
contamination is of minor importance.
Such areas include administrative sections, canteen, rest rooms,
cleaning facilities for pallets/crates, return containers, storage
facilities and service facilities, e.g. boiler rooms, CIP equipment, etc.
Normal good hygienic practices should be maintained.

'Hygienic/low-risk' areas
The risk of exposing the product to a contaminated environment is
limited
Good hygienic manufacturing practices are required.

Such areas are often situated adjacent to 'high risk/high care' areas,
thus functioning as a hygienic 'barrier lock'. Examples of 'hygienic'
areas are storage of packaging materials, laboratories, milk
reception and treatment area, etc.
In relation to the HACCP plan, these areas will often be regarded as
areas where microbiological preventative measures are carried out.

'High risk' areas

A 'high risk' area is a well-defined, physically separated part of the
factory which is designed and operated to prevent recontamination
of the final product by the strictest hygiene requirements.
Examples are processing, brining, ripening and packing rooms.
Usually, there are specific hygiene requirements regarding building
criteria, layout, standards of construction and equipment, flow of
products, training and hygiene of the personnel and other
operational procedures.

Sanitary features
Equipment is easily accessible & readily cleanable either in an
assembled position or when disassembled. Removable parts are
readily demountable.
All product contact surfaces are self-draining.

No pipe or fitting threads are exposed to the product.

All permanent joints are welded and grounded to smooth finish.

Interior surfaces are smooth and even, especially at joints, thus

eliminating crevices and projections.
Gaskets are eliminated wherever possible. If used, they should be
smooth, non-toxic and product resistant. They should not contribute
to off flavors in the product.

Cont
Possibility of processing under vacuum, which make the equipment
susceptible for external contamination.
Effective velocity of flow and optimum agitation to prevent surface
film formation.
Pre-heating the product with external devices.
Providing large vapour space where water to be removed.
Rapid removal of water vapour.

Avoiding air leaks.

Wall and curb surface

Piping and conduits are routed outside of

process areas where ever possible

Hygienic Equipment Design

Specific Requirements of Dairy Equipment

Most of the Dairy Equipment are worked continuously throughout
the year hence more wear and tear
Have wide temperature variations during operations

Have to with stand effects of water, steam, brine, refrigerants

cleaning and sanitizing solutions.
Are disassembled very frequently and hence exposed to damage of
components
Sanitary conditions are of paramount importance in dairy and Food
industry. Hence to achieve the above requirements, the equipments
must be designed and materials chosen suitably.

Cont.
Dust proof, corrosion resistant external surface. Smooth polished
internal surface
Minimum clearance of 100 mm between equipment base and floor
with ball foot

Absence of sharp corners and edges

Elimination of vertical dead spaces or passages and capped tees

Proper slope towards drain points

Properly ground and polished welds
Raised edge opening to prevent surface drainage in to container.
Sanitary type inlet and outlet fittings.

Hygienic Equipment Design

Some of the basic features of equipment design are:
Quick dismantling and assembling feature
Self draining slope to avoid any stagnation

Rounded corners of all welds and flanged type heads

Uniform temperature distribution mechanism
No blind pockets and crevices
Cleanability and decontamination

Construction materials
Materials used for product contact must have:

adequate strength over a wide temperature range,

a reasonable life,
be nontainting,
corrosion and abrasion resistant,
easily cleaned
capable of being shaped.

Stainless steel usually meets all these requirements.

Metals and alloys

Metals
1. Pig Iron

Details
obtained from blast furnace charged with iron-ore, Coke and Lime-stone.
Base metal for manufacturing CI, WI, steel and other steel products.

2. Wrought Iron

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content, in

comparison to steel, and has fibrous inclusions, known as slag. This is
what gives it a "grain" resembling wood, which is visible when it is etched
or bent to the point of failure.

3. Cast iron

Easily welded and forged. Tough, ductile, fibrous in structure and

malleable in quality Wears uniformly when exposed to corrosive
atmospheres and pittings do not occur due to corrosion. Best suited for
parts requiring intermittant shocks such as chains, hooks, couplings
under heavy duty conditions. Used as rivets due to property of plasticity.
Rolled sections such as bars etc.
Carbon-content is 2.5 to 4% and can be casted through mould into any
shape but it is tough towards machining and welding. Furnace bars, jaws
of crushing, and grinding machine, bases of pillars etc. are usually made
of this type of iron.

Cast Iron

GI Iron

Metals
4. Steels

Details
Iron alloys with carbon between 0.05 to 2.0%. In addition small amount of phosphorus,
sulphur, silicon and manganese are added to change their uses.
Mild Steel (0.05 to 0.3% carbon)- Vessel, pipes and fitting
Medium carbon steel (0.3 to 0.5% carbon)- Improved strength. Shafts, springs, bolts,
etc.

5. Alloy
steels
6. Alumini
um and
its
alloys

High carbon steel (0.5% to 2% carbon)- Very Hard. Cutting tools like blades, saw,
chisels etc.
Made by adding nickel, chromium, silicon, manganese, molybdenum, titanium etc.
They become highly corrosion resistant, and are used for heat exchangers, milk
pipelines, and all dairy equipments.
Milk cans are usually made of aluminum due to its lightweight. Used for making
ladders, door and windows and frames. Aluminium is chemically rather stable to milk
and milk products. Its greatest fault is venerability to attack by alkaline detergents.

Mild Steel

SS 304
AISI 304 is used for
construction
of
pipes, fittings, silos,
tanks and vessels.

SS 316
AISI 316 is used for fabrication
of plates of plate heat
exchangers,
CIP
tanks,
evaporator tubes which needs
higher corrosion resistance.

Alloys of stainless steel

Differences between SS304 & SS316

 Austenitic stainless steel with American Iron and Steel Institute

(AISI) 300 series (304, 306, 308 and 316) is most common S.S.
used for fabrication of dairy and food equipments.
Composition %
AISI No.
301
302
304
304 L
309
310
316
316 L
321
329
347
409
410

C
(maximum)
0.15
0.15
0.08
0.03
0.20
0.25
0.08
0.03
0.08
0.09
0.08
0.03
0.12

Mn

Cr

Ni

Others

2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
< 1.0
2.0
< 1.0
< 1.0

16-18
17-18
18-20
18-20
22-24
24-26
16-18
16-18
17-19
23-28
17-19
10.5- 11.5
11.5-13.5

6-8
8-10
8-12
8-12
12-15
18-22
10-14
10-14
9-12
2.5-5.5
9-13
<0.5
<0.75

2-3 Mo
2-3 Mo

1.7 N

b. Polymeric material
When choosing polymeric materials the following criteria should be
considered:
Compliance with regulatory requirements and recommendations
Compatibility with milk, milk products and ingredients (chemical
resistance to oil, fat, preservatives )
Chemical resistance (cleaning and disinfectants )
Temperature resistance in use (upper and lower use temperature)
Steam resistance (CIP/SIP), Stress-crack resistance, Hydrophobicity /
reactivity of the surface
Cleanability, effect of surface structure and smoothness, residue
accumulation

Adsorption / desorption, Leaching , Hardness, Resilience, Cold flow

and abrasion resistance

Cont..
Polymers frequently used in hygienically designed equipment are:
Acetal (Homo- and Co-Polymer) (POM), Fluoropolymers,
Polycarbonate (PC), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polyether Sulfone
(PESU), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyphenylene Sulfone
(PPSU), Polypropylene (PP), Polysulfone (PSU), Polyvinyl Chloride,
(PVC).
Certain polymers, particularly Fluoropolymers, can be applied as a
coating material (thin layers from 0.50 mm to about 1.2 mm) on many
metallic substrates to improve their chemical resistance or other
surface related properties.

c. Elastomers
The same parameters as listed in the polymeric materials section
above will apply for the selection of an elastomer. The elastomer
types that can be used in the milk plant for seals, gaskets and joint
rings are:
Hydrogenated Nitrile Butyl Rubber (HNBR), Natural Rubber (NR),
Nitrile/Butyl Rubber (NBR)
Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM): not oil and fat
resistant
Fluoroelastomer (FKM), Silicone Rubber (VMQ): For temperature
applications up to 180 C

Perfluoroelastomer (FFKM): For high temperature applications up to

and above 300C.

d. Lubricant
Equipment should be designed such that lubricants do not come into
contact with products. Where contact may be incidental lubricants
should conform to the NSF Non-Food Compounds Registration
Program including FDA 21 CFR.

e. Thermal insulation materials

Thermal insulation of equipment must be carried out in such a way
that the insulation material cannot be wetted by ingress of water
from the outside environment (e.g. hosing down, condensation on
cold surfaces).
The insulation material may not contain chloride.
Ingress of water may otherwise lead to a build up of chloride on the
stainless steel surfaces, resulting in stress corrosion cracking or
pitting corrosion.
Ingress of water may also result in loss of insulation performance.

Surface finish
Product contact surfaces should have a finish of an acceptable Ra
value and be free from imperfections such as pits, folds and
crevices.
Large areas of product contact surface should have a surface finish
of 0.8 m Ra, or better, although the cleanability strongly depends
on the applied surface finishing technology, as this can affect the
surface topography.

Rougher surfaces will deteriorate more rapidly with age and wear
(abrasion), making cleaning more difficult.

Welds

Joints

Cont.

Fasteners

Drainage

Cont.

Cont..

Internal angles and corners

Dead spaces

Seals

Cont

Cont..

Shaft end

Doors, covers and panels

Conveyor Belt

Instruments

Controls

Cont.

Equipment Installation

Cont.

Cont..

Framework

Accessible for Inspection,

cleaning, maintenance

Cont

No food product or liquid collection

Self draining

Free of growth niches

Conclusion
Hygiene is not a term only meant for processing plants. To ensure
that safety standards are met, hygiene needs to be considered from
milk production in the farm, right till the customer consumes the final
product.

If hygiene standards fail at any stage of the milk productioncollection-transportation-processing-marketing, the quality and
safety of the milk and milk product is compromised.

As a result customers can be put at risk and ultimately businesses,

their brands and reputations may suffer major irreversible
consequences.

Thank You