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Issue 1 2005, Past issues / 31 January 2005 / Hilde Cnossen, M.Sc., Jacques Kastelein, Drs. Jan Willem van der Kamp, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, Netherlands
The European Network for Hygienic Manufacturing of Food – HYFOMA – was established in 2001 with the aim to provide guidelines and test methods on hygienic design and processing and to disseminate knowledge. The presentations by key stakeholders in the final project meeting, Brussels 30 November 2004, clearly showed that HYFOMA has established new and high quality standards for guidelines and for training & education.
Food production is changing to more complex, multi-component products; a longer shelf life of fresh products; less preservatives and using raw materials from all over the world – due to consumer demands. Governments and customers are imposing public (HACCP) and private (BRC, Eurep-Gap) quality control systems. More comprehensive systems are coming, e.g. ISO 22000, covering food production itself and all supplies to it: raw materials, packaging materials, lubricating oils etc. Therefore, fulfilling criteria for hygienic food production is becoming more difficult than it used to be. Science and technology are delivering a constant stream of new insights, techniques and materials for enhancing hygienic food production, with significant contribution of the EC Framework Programs. However, establishing insights to implementation in production plants is just the beginning. Insights must be translated into guidelines agreed upon by the leading experts in Europe and understandable for all those involved – including managers and operators in production plants, equipment manufacturers, construction engineers, other suppliers and food inspectors. In addition, adequate training programs must be developed.
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Issue 1 2005, Past issues / 31 January 2005 / Dr. A.P.M. Hasting, Hygienic Processing Project Manager, Unilever Research Colworth
Process hygiene is an ongoing issue of considerable importance for the food industry, as the increasing cost pressures placed on manufacturers by the major retailers have to be met, without compromising the safety and shelf life of the product.
Fouling and cleaning are widely accepted to be the cause of significant practical problems within the food industry in terms of their potential impact on process hygiene and hence product quality, as well as the operational performance of food processing plants. Fouling is the unwanted accumulation or deposition of material on equipment surfaces or stagnant areas of equipment. It is often poorly understood and monitored and consequently difficult to predict when and where it will occur. It is rarely uniform or evenly distributed and may vary significantly even on a day to day basis. Traditionally fouling is strongly, but not exclusively, associated with heat processes. Typical examples and their consequences are shown in Table 1.
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Issue 1 2005, Past issues / 31 January 2005 / Grith Mortensen, Torben L. Friis and Henrik Skou Pedersen, Arla Foods, Innovation Center Brabrand, Denmark
Many food producers underestimate the effects of packaging on quality deterioration. In order to preserve product quality, it is of paramount importance to thoroughly understand and focus on the interactions taking place between the packaging and the product. It is only by applying this knowledge to tailor packaging to individual product types that producers will secure, or even boost, their cutting edge positions.
At present, choices of packaging materials and methods are primarily based on practical experience and/or empirical methods. However, it is crucial to commercial viability to focus R&D activity on interactions between packaging, the surrounding headspace and the product. Different foods call for different packaging concepts, hence in-depth knowledge is required about the most important quality changes taking place in the various products, in order to individually tailor the packaging solutions. Figure 1 reviews how packaging and storage can affect product quality. Due to the dynamic interplay between product, packaging and its surroundings, it is vitally important to incorporate both packaging and product expertise from the beginning of the R&D process.
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