Hygienic design – what is it?

When you are standing in the kitchen, it is a matter of course keeping a high degree of cleanliness when cooking. We do of course do the dishes, either by hand or by use of a dishwasher, and the result should hopefully be that our kitchen is so clean and sterile that we remain healthy.

 

While the cleaning is relatively simple at home, it is otherwise complicated in the industry. Partly because all cleaning is carried out by the use of liquids, which is pumped through the system and partly because the result cannot be inspected visually. Both factors impose high demands in terms of design and operation and if you are not sufficiently attentive, it can lead to downright disasters. Most recently, things turned out disastrously in 2014 when contaminated rolled meat sausage (a very common kind of cold cut meat) lead to multiple deaths.

 

To ensure maximum cleanability for the equipment is called “hygienic design”. Ideally, everything should be able to be cleaned without any problems, but this is, unfortunately, almost never the case. The different requirements of functionality, cleanability and the actual construction of the equipment will automatically point in different directions. You can rarely construct the equipment ideally in terms of functionality at a reasonable price. Hygienic equipment therefore often entails compromises. Naturally, these should be as few and limited as possible and be pointed out in the operational manual.

 

The ideal hygienic design depends on both materials, products and operations but you can come a long way by using your common sense. Two general “rules” are that there in all tanks and tubes should be ensured good drainability and all surfaces should be smooth without any crevices. Moreover, both things are good for the corrosion resistance of the steel – which truly kills two birds with one stone. There is often a correlation between good hygiene and good corrosion resistance.