A time to review and renew

2007 is now well underway and with the passing of another year, the EHEDG has taken time to reflect on its major achievements. The result has seen the compilation of the group’s main guidelines and documents in the form of a 2007 Yearbook – an excellent way to get the most from years of work! But life doesn’t stand still for the EHEDG and important events are already planned for later this year.

2007 Yearbook hot off the press!

Some of the most important work of EHEDG to-date is now featured in a Yearbook, published in January as a TIFS (Technical Institute of Food Safety) supplement. It provides a description of 35 guidelines and extended summaries of the documents on materials of construction for equipment in contact with food, food-grade lubricants and water treatment in food factories. EHEDG doc. 2 describing a test to assess in-place cleanability of food processing equipment is published in full and the scheme for certification of equipment and components is illustrated. It also features research reports related to cleaning and cleanability, such as the use of ozone in food industries; the effect of velocity on cleaning; and adhesion vs. surface characteristics. The publication is intended to present an overview of EHEDG’s contribution to promoting the safe and hygienic manufacture and processing of food through hygienic engineering of equipment, plant and processes. The Yearbook also represents a commitment to training and discusses available courses and the continuous development of training materials. Complimentary copies are distributed to members. Other interested parties may view articles on a pay by page basis at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09242244

Food- new options for the industry

A joint EHEDG / EFFoST conference will be held in Lisbon, Portugal on 14-16 November this year. It will present practical applications of research results related to various stages of food processing, as well as the optimal design of cleanable and functional process lines and equipment. International experts on food science technology will collaborate with experts on plant and equipment engineering in order to bridge the gap between these fields. The event includes activities designed to enhance this collaboration:

• A NovelQ workshop
• A course on hygienic design of equipment
• Meetings between students/young scientists and industry to facilitate staff recruitment

CALL FOR POSTERS FOR LISBON CONFERENCE

Poster session contributions are currently invited on the following topics:

• Biofilms, fouling, cleaning and sanitation
• Sensors and monitoring
• Filling and packaging
• New food contact materials
• Regulations, verification and validation
• Micro/nano technology and food
• Training and education
• Processing, waste reduction and sustainability

Please submit abstracts online at http://www.effost-ehedg-conf.elsevier.com by 15 March 2007.

A programme overview and other details are also available at www.ehedg.org

ECO-MATRIX: the efficient piping concept for Process Plants

Knuth Lorenzen, GEA Tuchenhage

The Tuchenhagen piping system ECO-MATRIX offers cost effectiveness and efficiency so far unreached in systems engineering.

By comparison with ordinary systems, ECO-MATRIX considerably reduces the number of instruments required and allows for essential optimisation of process sequences. This helps businesses to manage their capital investment and provides a much faster pay-back. Production processes in modern dairy and beverage plants are determined increasingly by economic factors and product quality requirements. There is a continual requirement to improve product quality, increase operational safety and, at the same time, reduce capital and operating costs and minimise product losses. This can be quite a challenge!

The response to this challenge, however, is ECO-MATRIX.

ECO-MATRIX is a new system of piping from Tuchenhagen in which the process pipes and process valves are connected directly beneath the tank outlet. The process valves may be arranged either laterally at the tank outlet tree, at the tank cone or vertically at the tank bottom flange. This innovative system significantly reduces the length of piping required, which in turn reduces product losses and minimises the risk of contamination during the brewing or distribution processes.

More efficiency and cost reductions will be possible with a newly developed concept for the operation of tank storage systems in piped systems for liquids (flow diverting).

The technical advantages of ECO-MATRIX at a glance are:

• Simple and quick to install
• Reduced space requirement
• Short tank outlet pipes; minimised product losses
• No dead ends at the tank outlet