Prof. Dr. Ian Wilson takes part in the Paste, Particle and Polymer Processing Group (in association with Sarah Rough and Bart Hallmark), and continues the activity started by John Bridgwater and Malcom Mackley. Their activities focus around fundamental studies, process modelling, product design and rheology, e.g. investigations of phenomena, such as wall slip, liquid phase migration, agglomeration and spheronisation, developing models of paste forming processes, such as rolling/calendering or screen extrusion and relating function, processing and formulation to deliver particular product properties. Ongoing projects include the extrusion of tungsten carbide pastes (with Sarah Rough) to understand monitor micro-structural development and defect formation, the rheology of bubbly liquids (aka cake batters and foamed cement, with Bart Hallmark), and extrusion-spheronisation of pharmaceutical materials (with Sarah Rough).

Fouling and Cleaning Mechanisms
A whole class of unwanted micro-structured materials can be found as fouling deposits on heat transfer surfaces, in distribution systems and other equipment. Fouling is a common (and expensive) operating problem in many processes, particularly the food industry, where the deposits formed can act as harbours for other problem species (e.g. bacteria ). This work relates to long-standing efforts in heat transfer and approaches the problem at three related scales: fundamental studies of deposit formation and removal (with particular focus on deposit structure and modelling), design, control and operation of individual heat exchanger units, both in production and during cleaning (e.g. for aspectic processing) and design and operation of large heat transfer networks, such as are used in energy intensive processes.

Recent work has looked at water scaling on copper surfaces (with Stuart Clarke) and novel, non-disruptive, in-situ methods for studying the growth or removal of soft layers in conjunction with John Chew  (University of Bath). The soft layers include biofilms and protein matrices undergoing swelling for controlled release. Their interest in cleaning in the food sector has expanded into studies of the flow behaviour of liquid jets impinging on vertical walls and their cleaning behaviour. This work (in conjunction with John Davidson) features collaborations with TU Braunschweig, TU Dresden and DAMTP in Cambridge.

The paper by Ishiyama et al. in Heat Transfer Engineering (2014) brought the strands of soft-solids and fouling together in a unified framework for managing fouling and cleaning cycles, where deposit ageing (converting deposit from a soft solid to a hard material) is a key factor. The Matlab code for this work is available from Dr Edward Ishiyama. Ian was awarded an ScD by the University of Cambridge for his work in this field in 2013.

Other Professional Activities
Ian is the Editor-in-Chief (Food) of the IChemE journal Food & Bioproducts Processing, IChemE University Accreditation Assessor, IChemE Food & Drink Subject Interest Group and member of the EHEDG Working Group Tank Cleaning Systems. 

Last year, Dr. Peter Golz, chairman of the EHEDG Product Portfolio Sub-Commission, explained how this centralisation secures the validity of EHEDG certificates (click here to read his article in EHEDG Connects Magazine). Now that a year has passed, it is time to learn a bit more about the person who gives substance to this newly created position within EHEDG. Introducing: EHEDG Certification Officer Mirjam Steenaard. 

Nice to meet you. How did your first year at EHEDG unfold?

Mirjam Steenaard: “The first couple of months were quite challenging, because we were still transitioning from a decentralised to a centralised EHEDG Certification Organization. All the certification, contract and financial data of EHEDG Certificate holders had to be retrieved from the various test laboratories and as it turned out, many of the records were incomplete. By now, new certification and recertification applications run through the EHEDG website, where all the necessary information to start the evaluation and certification processes have to be entered, but that has not always been the case. Prior to my appointment to office, my new colleagues at the EHEDG Secretariat had already done a great deal of work updating the certification database, but I still had to really dive into the matter to complete it. I also had to learn how all processes are organised within EHEDG. I was very fortunate to find such knowledgeable and committed colleagues at the Secretariat. Susanne, Jana and Johanna did a fantastic job: they offered me all the support I needed to get started.”

What does an EHEDG Certification Officer do on a daily basis? 

“Since all technical evaluation and certification steps are handled by the Authorized Evaluation Officers (AEOs) and, if cleaning in place testing is required, by the EHEDG accredited test laboratories, my work as the EHEDG Certification Officer mainly focuses on the procedural, financial and legislative aspects of the certification allotments. The certification process consists of several procedural stages. Firstly, the applicant who wants to certify (or needs to recertify) a component will fill in the online application form on the EHEDG website and select a preferred AEO (for a list of all AEOs: click here). What follows is an initial evaluation procedure, in which the AEO performs a design review to determine if all basic design requirements are met. After a successful design review, open equipment may be submitted directly for certification but most closed equipment will require cleanability in-place (CIP) testing by an EHEDG Authorised Test Laboratory (ATL, for a list of all ATL’s: click here). Only after successfully completing at least 3 CIP tests, will the closed equipment be eligible for certification. The certification file will be completed by the appointed AEO and reviewed by at least one other AEO before being accepted by the EHEDG Certification Officer (me). I will then fill in the contract with all necessary details, make sure that the applicant accepts the terms of the EHEDG contract and will issue a "Certificate of Compliance" after which the equipment will be listed on the EHEDG website (for a complete oversight of the certification procedure: click here). Finally, I will forward the high resolution EHEDG Certified logo to the certificate owner and monitor the correct use of the logo. If a company misuses it, I will inform them and if necessary take legal action. Generally, on a typical working day I am also very busy with answering questions of certification holders with respect to contract details and invoicing and so on. So in essence, I mainly have a supporting role to make sure that the certification procedures proceed correctly and efficiently.”

What are your plans for your second year in office? 

“We are investigating new possibilities to optimise the administrative workflows with regard to the certification processes, for example by partly automating the invoicing. Furthermore, I will have to keep up with the globalisation of EHEDG. At this moment, we have EHEDG Accredited Testing Laboratories in Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan and the USA. With the global expansion of EHEDG, the range of EHEDG Certificate applications and testing laboratories is likely to expand as well. And with the new recertification policy in place, I also expect to answer many additional questions from certificate holder from all around the world (for more info on the new recertification policy: click here). Fortunately, I speak five languages and I really enjoy communicating and working with different people, so I am looking forward to whatever future challenges I may encounter in my role as EHEDG Certification Officer. One thing I am sure of: there’s still a lot of work to be done to facilitate the EHEDG organisation and its members, and I am committed to offer my full support to any future needs and developments.” 

Quality over quantity, that is the prime directive for the EHEDG Sub-Committee Regional Development when regulating the regional growth of EHEDG around the world. With a clear set of strategic objectives and key performance indicators, EHEDG supports, monitors and aligns the activities of the EHEDG Regional Sections. 

What strategic objectives does EHEDG want the regional sections to contribute to?
Andres Pascual Vidal: “To raise the awareness for hygienic design in their regions, to provide guidance and to increase EHEDG recognition and technical abilities. Furthermore, the EHEDG Regional Sections are expected to realise a well-balanced membership structure, to support to EHEDG products and the EHEDG communication strategy and to increase the cooperation among their surrounding regional sections.”

How do you expect them to do that?
“One of the first things a newly established EHEDG Regional Section can do is to organise promotional meetings. Most Regional Sections do this once or twice a year, but to make EHEDG better known in the regions we stimulate them to organise at least three meetings yearly. The EHEDG Regional Sections can also develop regional EHEDG seminars, translate EHEDG guidelines into their regional languages and officially participate in external events and courses under the name of EHEDG. They are even welcome to submit ideas for stories to the new EHEDG Sub-Committee Communication to put their region in the global spotlight. We have developed a comprehensive roadmap containing hands-on information on how to deploy all of these activities. We invite all EHEDG Regional Sections, the long existing and the new ones, to follow this roadmap to reach their goals.”

What does the Sub-Committee Regional Development do in the meantime?
“The Regional Development Sub-Committee leads and develops strategies and programs for the EHEDG Regional Sections. The Sub-Committee members help the EHEDG Regional Sections to interpret and apply the EHEDG strategies, to identify needs, gaps and opportunities, to strengthen the interaction between EHEDG and its local extensions as well as to monitor and support regional activities to maximise their impact.”

Why assess and monitor the EHEDG Regional Sections in the first place?
”In the past, the growth of EHEDG was uncontrolled and unlimited. As a result, EHEDG grew very fast, but no structural performance data was coming from the regions to base EHEDG admission and funding policy on. To control the growth and safeguard the quality of EHEDG products and services, the EHEDG Sub-Committee Regional Development introduced key performance indicators (KPI) that enable us to evaluate all EHEDG Regional Sections in the same way. This also creates an honest level playing field for funding. Some EHEDG Regional Sections never ask for financial support. Others need more funding. On average EHEDG finances about half of the total costs made by the EHEDG Regional Sections. Thanks to the KPI’s, the EHEDG Sub-Committee Regional Development and the EHEDG Executive Committee can support, regulate and motivate all EHEDG Regional Sections strategically and transparently. We can now offer expertise and financial means in a targeted way to maximise the EHEDG value proposition in the regions while safeguarding the quality of EHEDG products and services worldwide.”

What are the primary selection criteria for admitting new EHEDG Regional Sections?
“First of all, every new EHEDG Regional Section must have an EHEDG Regional Committee, consisting of at least four members: a chairperson, a co-chair, a treasurer, and a secretary. Since we strive for diversity, all EHEDG Regional Committee members should ideally originate from different private organisations. Secondly, the EHEDG Regional Committee has to sign the current EHEDG bylaws that contain all strategy and process related rules of conduct. Furthermore, the applying region has to turn in an annual action plan and budget estimation that describes in detail how the EHEDG Regional Committee plans to contribute to the strategic objectives. The EHEDG Executive Committee handles the applications, advised by our Sub-Committee Regional Development and based on our preferences regarding the priority of admittance of new regions.”

Do you have any suggestions on how to promote EHEDG on a regional scale?
”It depends on the region of course, but most companies in the world of food are sensitive for a general set of compelling benefits that hygienic engineering and design can offer. Securing food safety by reducing contamination risks goes hand in hand with optimising plant productivity (as a result of shorter cleaning intervals) and with improving sustainability (through savings in chemicals, water, and energy). These economic and environmental effects are substantial and real and are underlined by the attributions of the recent “Life Best Project Awards” of the European Commission. Also, let’s not forget the business opportunities that the EHEDG community represents. Many EHEDG Regional Sections are hosted by universities and non-governmental organisations that promote EHEDG primarily from a perspective of food safety and social responsibility, but most potential EHEDG members are also interested in new business opportunities. I would suggest to always refer to several of these great benefits and opportunities that EHEDG has to offer.”

The golden era of hygienic design

"These are exciting times for EHEDG. The global food industry collectively recognises the importance of hygienic engineering and design for safe food processing and packaging. Food producers, scientists, legislators, and equipment manufacturers acknowledge and advocate that hygienic design is an indispensable prerequisite for safe food production.

EHEDG is today a trustworthy and competent knowledge platform that provides the necessary expertise to improve food safety worldwide. Consequently, membership is growing. Since our previous print publication, we have again welcomed many new members in our community. Since all of these members bring in their unique knowledge and experience, EHEDG has more expertise to show for than ever before.

Connecting the dots and leading the way

The leading role of EHEDG in hygienic engineering and design is also noticed by other organisations that strive to make the world of food a safer place. The European Commission is considering including hygienic design as a best available technique. The 3-A organisation in the United States is referring to EHEDG guidelines to formulate its sanitary standards for food producers. Also, the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) decided to develop one of its scopes with the support of EHEDG expertise. These are great opportunities for EHEDG to position the working field of hygienic engineering and design in a broad context of global food safety.

EHEDG continues to emphasise that implementing hygienic equipment and engineering solutions optimises food safety, sustainability, and food processing productivity. This is the golden era of hygienic design because the industry realises that investing in hygienic engineering and design creates a win-win-win-situation for people, planet, and profits. In our quest to support food safety and food quality, EHEDG is blossoming into a lively community of people that care profoundly about food safety. The support base for EHEDG is solid and fertile. Our well-established product portfolio provides practical guidance to the industry; our certificates keep on proving their practical value and our training programs reach more industry stakeholders every day. They will continue to do so via face-to-face training as well as online e-training programs, all as parts of our roadmap to establish an EHEDG Training Academy. By continuously improving and communicating our product offering, EHEDG collectively contributes value to its member companies.

Maximizing the value of EHEDG products and services

To stay relevant, it is vital that EHEDG continuously optimises its value proposition for its members. The many EHEDG committees and EHEDG working groups will continue to offer guidance with factual and unbiased information. They keep up with new legislation and innovation developments, publish new and update existing guidelines, establish certification opportunities and enhance training programs. These volunteers will tell you that being part of the global EHEDG community and working collectively with people from all over the world is rewarding both professionally and personally.

All EHEDG members share a common objective: we want to help to secure food safety globally. Thus it is an essential mission of the EHEDG leadership to safeguard the objectivity of all EHEDG activities. That’s why the EHEDG Executive Committee chooses to operate and communicate in a fully transparent manner. As we speak, new online and offline channels are put into place so that every EHEDG member can safely share knowledge and exchange views under the flag of the protected EHEDG brand. Because sharing knowledge means caring for food safety.

EHEDG Connects

This publication shows how EHEDG connects people that care about hygienic design and food safety. The interviews with the chairmen of the EHEDG committees and working groups show us how their teams contribute to an expanding range of EHEDG services. They explain how realigning the management structure of EHEDG has made this organisation more agile, and how our recently centralised certification process secures the validity and comparability of EHEDG certificates. By implementing new means of digital communication and topic-oriented online forums, they stimulate knowledge exchange, and by streamlining guideline and training protocols, they help to adequately disclose all the valuable expertise that EHEDG has to offer.

On behalf of EHEDG, I cordially invite you to join us in this golden era of hygienic engineering and design. By sharing our activities, accomplishments, and plans with you, we hope to inspire you to share yours too. Connect with us so we can broaden our scopes together and optimise food safety and food quality all over the world." 

Why do we need to read this guideline?
Dr. Winkler: “The quality of water used for food processing can be critical for the final product safety in the marketplace. It also affects the reliability of production processes and foremost: the health safety of personnel. In that respect, if water quality falls below acceptable standards and is allowed to form aerosols, food processing systems can become prone to microbes that can cause a potentially fatal disease in humans known as Legionnaires’ disease (to read more about the different types of microbes in EHEDG Connects Magazine: click here).

All types of water treatments, directly or indirectly linked to the production process, should therefore render the water microbiologically and toxicologically safe. 

What’s the scope of this guideline?
“This EHEDG Guideline summarises practices to ensure adequate water and steam qualities for safe use in food and beverage production as well as to how avoid the emergence of Legionella in various types of water systems. The guideline focusses on practices for product water and utility water. Utility water is used in secondary processes where no direct contact with the product occurs at any stage, for example hot and cooling water systems and fire fighting water storage. Product water encompasses the water used as a product ingredient, as rinsing water in food contact areas and water used by personnel for washing, food and drink preparation. All these types of water need to be adequately treated, stored and distributed in accordance to this guideline. EHEDG Guideline 28 covers all of these areas, from water sources to water treatments and water distribution systems, and from steam quality to Legionella control.”

How did the development of this guideline come about?
“The first steps were taken in 2003, after some Legionella outbreaks directly related to the use of inferior product and utility water quality had occurred. There was a need for clear guidelines on water management and treatment. It resulted in the development of EHEDG Guideline 23, 24 and 27. These guidelines covered different aspects of the use, storage and distribution of water in food factories and they cleared the way towards better control over water quality aspects, but until recently, there was no comprehensive hygienic engineering and design guideline covering all water management aspects in one document. So the members of the EHEDG Working Group Water Treatment teamed up to integrate the fragmented guideline chapters on water and steam management into one new guideline. EHEDG Guideline 28 is the result of that.”

What has changed since 2003?
“Most common water treatment methods remain valid. Some new insights related to the sustainability aspect of water use are included. There have also been some developments in the electrochemical treatment field, but we didn’t include guidelines on how to hygienically re-use processing water in food plants in this document. For this purpose, we refer to the Codex Alimentarius discussion paper on proposed draft guidelines and the current work being done at JEMRA: Risk based framework on water re-use, currently under development. However, since Legionella are especially dangerous when inhaled in an aerosol state, Guideline 28 does contain a section specifically dedicated to that subject. Complementary to existing legislation aimed at controlling Legionella, this guideline highlights especially those elements that are of particular importance for the food industry. So put EHEDG Guideline 28 on your reading list to learn about hygienic engineering and design aspects of different water treatment options, from sourcing via distribution to daily use in food and beverage plants.” 

You are welcome to download EHEDG Guideline 28 here: www.ehedg.org/guidelines

..............................................................

Please scroll down to watch the video. 

..............................................................

EHEDG Executive Committee member Knuth Lorenzen is convinced that distinct EHEDG test methodology development is even more relevant after EHEDG reclaimed its rights for allocating EHEDG certificates.

Together with EHEDG experts and the EHEDG Working Group Testing & Certification, he developed a new approach that enables EHEDG Authorised test laboratories to assess the cleanability test for open food processing equipment in the a uniform way.

Why was this new test method guideline developed?
Knuth Lorenzen: “The first EHEDG test method guideline focused on assessing the in-place cleanability of food processing equipment and dates back to 1997. Between this publication and the last one launched in 2012 EHEDG published three more test method guidelines that focused on closed food processing equipment as well. This new and long-awaited EHEDG test method guideline is the first one specifically developed for testing open food processing equipment. It was requested by many food producers who want to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff when selecting new components - just like they do with closed processing equipment. This new test method guideline is the result of an extensive process of investigating and discussing the differences between testing closed versus open food processing equipment. In open food processes, there are many more factors that can influence the test results than in closed processes where testing conditions are much easier to control.”

How did you come up with the idea to introduce robot technology?
“After their first meeting in 2015, the working group members started to investigate methods to compare cleaning effects for various types of open process components. For a long time we’ve been looking for reliable and repeatable methods to first stain, then dry and finally clean open process equipment. This had to be done in ways that would justify comparing the cleaning results with our self-built reference components. To make the cleaning results comparable, both the test components and the reference components had to be stained, dried and cleaned in the same ways, with equal angles and distances between the cleaning nozzle and the surfaces during the whole staining and cleaning process. This was quite a challenge because many components for open processing have irregular shapes, corners, and surfaces. Eventually, I realized that the only reliable way to do this would be to use a programmable robot that traces all surfaces, based on a virtual twin model of the component.”

That sounds complicated.
“Due to recent advancements in robot technology, this is nearly not as complicated as it sounds. Most hygienic design equipment is already designed in 3D-modelling software, so the equipment producers can deliver the models to the EHEDG authorized test institutes. The test institutes can then feed the 3D-model to the robots and calibrate their testing procedures accordingly. The robots are off-the-shelf-products and can easily be obtained by the test institutes themselves. Just like the food processing companies, the EHEDG authorized test institutes are eager to read this new EHEDG test method guideline - because once they know which test method criteria they have to comply with, they can immediately start offering EHEDG testing and certification services for open food processing equipment. In cooperation with the EHEDG Working Group Testing & Certification, the Fraunhofer Institute is momentarily beta testing the new methodology in a real-life test setting. Please check the EHEDG website and the EHEDG social media news feeds to stay tuned.”

More needs to be done to ensure the minimisation of food poisoning outbreaks, which still occur because of cross contamination resulting from poorly designed, cleaned and maintained food factory environments, and from the production equipment within them. 

These key messages emerged from the sixth European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) World Congress held in London from 21-22 November during the Food Matters Live event.The World Congress, which attracted 350 delegates from 51 countries around the world, heard about the very latest thinking on hygienic engineering and design from expert speakers from academia and industry, including food manufacturers Mondelēz and Cargill, and leading food retailer Marks & Spencer, whose senior food hygiene technologist Katie Satterthwaite spoke about the criticality of hygienic design to good cleaning practices in food and drink premises.

Twenty presentations over the two days were grouped into four sessions covering building and equipment design; cleaning; innovation; and upgrading and renovation. Speakers discussed everything from the use of mathematical modelling to optimise spray jet removal of waste deposits from the surfaces of process vessels, through to very practical advice on equipment design and maintenance to minimise the entrapment and retention of potentially dangerous pathogens.

They also described good layout of production facilities – including air handling and water management – together with the design of all-important drainage systems, to reduce the opportunities for cross contamination. The need to carry out risk assessments when changes are made to the fabric of food factory buildings, such as when new lines are added, was discussed by Richard Leathers of Campden BRI. The practical importance of this was then outlined by Cargill’s Haydn Mann, who described his experiences with a recent upgrade to one of Cargill’s poultry processing factories in the UK. 

Several presentations described the activities of EHEDG Working Groups, which have produced some 49 practical guidelines that are now being specified and used as prerequisites by companies, food safety organisations and governments around the world to ensure the quality and safety of foodstuffs on sale to consumers. However, EHEDG doesn’t stand still. It operates a process of continuous improvement in which guidelines are periodically reviewed, updated and added to by specialist working groups as more knowledge and expertise is gained. Some of these developments were also described over the two days of the Congress.

For example, work on updating EHEDG guidance on the validation of cleaning regimes was described by Dirk Nikoleiski of Commercial Food Sanitation, while forthcoming EHEDG guideline number 50 on cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems was described by Diversey’s Hein Timmerman.

On the first evening of the Congress, a gala dinner for delegates was held at which the Hygienic Study Awards were presented. First prize went to Sawsen Zouaghi, from the School of Industrial Biology at the University of Cergy-Pontoise in France, for her PhD thesis on biomimetic surfaces for dairy fouling management. 

Awards were also presented for the best technical posters displayed during the Congress, with the first prize awarded for the development of a flexible mobile cleaning device for open processing and packaging lines from the Fraunhofer IVV in Dresden, Germany.

The EHEDG Merit awards, which recognise outstanding contribution to the organisation and the food and drink sector generally, were presented to Ulf Thiessen of GEA Tuchenhagen in Germany and Hein Timmerman from Diversey in Belgium.

As delegates relaxed during the gala dinner, they were serenaded by the glorious classical singing of female vocalist duo Belle Voci, 2018 finalists in the hit British TV music talent show The Voice UK.