Hygienic design in the food industry

• Explain and apply legislation, standards, guidelines incl. certifications concerning hygienic design and food contact materials in EU
• Evaluate hygienic design aspects of construction materials, surface characteristics and equipment design details in regards to cleanability
• Analyze hygienic design of processing equipment in open and closed systems
• Apply criteria of hygienic design to identify cases where the relevant legislation has been violated
• Examine hygienic design of processing plants, the rooms where processing takes place and placement of equipment
• Develop conceptual re-designs of process equipment and processing lines based on information about construction materials, maintenance and cleaning procedures
• Select suitable materials (stainless steel and polymers) and post treatments of materials to implement hygienic design
• Identify potential corrosive environments in the food industry and recognize corrosion failures commonly seen in the food industry
• Design proper cleaning and disinfection procedures for specific soils and process types and explain the effect of basic types of detergents and sanitizers
• Apply procedures in employee personal hygiene and pest control

The objective of hygienic design of processing equipment and unit operations is to ensure high quality and safe food products, optimal processing times and total runtime of a process line.

The course will deal with design of processing equipment and process lines from the hygienic design point of view with respect to material choices and structures based on existing laws, rules, norms and guidelines. The following are examples of topics which will be covered in the course:
• Legislation and guidelines for hygienic design,
• Good and inappropriate equipment designs in both open and closed processing systems,
• Methods to characterize surface structures (topology) and to test equipment cleanability,
• The impact of construction materials and structures on the hygienic quality, e.g., cleanability of surfaces (stainless steel, weldings, polymers and elastomers),
• Corrosion types seen in the food industry and overview of material types most commonly used,
• Efficiency of cleaning agents and cleaning methods including fluid flows,
• Hygienic considerations in the construction of a food processing plant including site selection, product flow and hygiene in processing.

Lectures and group assignments

The course is offered by DTU Food in cooperation with DTU Mechanical Engineering.

Maximum: 96.

Please be aware that this course has a limited number of seats available. If there are too many applicants, a pool will be created for the remainder of the qualified applicants, and they will be selected at random. You will be informed 8 days before the start of the course, whether you have been allocated a spot.