Well-worn manufacturing equipment is at risk of becoming inoperational or even failing altogether, causing difficult problems for the hygienic food industry.
Manufacturers need to concentrate greater investment in their plant infrastructure if they are to avoid costly food recalls and being at the mercy of stringent industry directives.
Temperature variations
The temperature shocks that can be caused to manufacturing equipment during cleaning cycles are just one cause of increased wear.
The sudden fluctuations in temperature which occur between the production process and the cleaning process can induce massive stress on the pipework and instrumentation.
In food and beverage plants, a typical victim of extreme temperature variations is the electromagnetic flow meter.
All magflow meters have a liner made out of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to isolate the conductive liquid from the outer housing.
PTFE is commonly known as Teflon, a brand name of DuPont.
During the cleaning process, the PTFE softens and loses concentricity, and when cooled, retains the distorted shape, incurring great inaccuracies.
Endress+Hauser offer solutions
One solution is the Promag H available from Endress+Hauser, which has an embedded metal mesh in the PTFE to ensure it maintains its shape.
Just launched for level measurement in tanks and vats to specifically handle these temperature shocks is the Deltapilot S, a hydrostatic pressure transmitter for level measure of liquids in wet environments.
It features the condensation tight pressure sensor technology, CONTITE.
The Deltapilot S offers high accuracy and repeatability even during rapid and significant temperature changes.
Endress+Hauser has a range of instrumentation specifically designed for hygienic applications.
New international requirements, such as the US standard FDA 21CFR11, which determines how data must be recorded and stored in food batch processes, put greater pressure on manufacturers to conform.
Food manufacturers are prohibited from exporting food products to the US without 21CFR11 implementation.
There is an awareness that countries, including Australia, must improve hygiene standards, to compete on a global platform.
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