For food production, there is hardly another factor of such a high importance than hygiene. The new hygiene design of the Multivac thermoforming machines creates more control about the ensurance of a hygienic machine state - with less effort and costs. The machines are certified in accordance with DIN EN 1672-2 already in their basic configuration, as the first and only thermoformers to date.

Protecting customers is the highest priority today in both Europe and the USA - tendency rising. The product liability acts in Europe and the US give manufacturers an increasing deal of responsibility in this regard: to a large extent, the manufacturer is the one responsible for the proper processing and quality of their products - and therefore also legally liable. By using machinery designs optimised for hygiene, food manufacturers can reduce their risk. This also leads to a reduction in the effort and the costs to guarantee a hygienic status of the machine.

Hygiene starts on the outside and on the inside

The hygienic optimisation of the machinery design cannot just be restricted to the outside of the machine: Decisive internal components are within the splash zone, such as the transport chain, the chain guide rail, the side frames and the pumps. Up until now however, these areas could, due to their construction, only be cleaned with difficulty, sometimes even requiring time-consuming disassembly.

Supported by independent experts the designers at Multivac have developed a new generation of thermoform packaging machines, with a completely new hygienic design. The process of cleaning is simplified and accelerated and technically supported to the extent possible, in order to enable hygienic perfection in an economic way.

Cleaning without deposits - with less effort and costs

The new hygienic design is certified by the German Association for Food and Gastronomy (Deutsche Berufsgenossenschaft Nahrungsmittel und Gaststätten / BGN) in accordance with the strict requirements of the German standard DIN EN 1672-2. The materials used and the composition of the surfaces, the construction of the connections, the ease with which liquid flows off the machines and the accessibility for cleaning were all examined. The machines are also evaluated and certified by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) in accordance with the requirements of ANSI/NSF/3A 14159.

The outside of the machine is characterized by smooth, sloping services, so that cleaning water and any residues of dirt can run off them easily. Dead space and inaccessible niches are avoided consistently, even in details: such as the height- djustable feet which are without an external thread or the closed form deflexion pulleys.

The design of the internal components also follows the principle of quick and comprehensive cleaning. Completely new developments are a transport chain with open spring windings and an open chain guide rail avoiding any dead space. This patented innovation enables any contaminants to be rinsed away leaving behind no residues - without the chain having to be dismounted. A wide range of additional components was also designed according to the same principle.

Automatic chemical cleaning of the interior

To make the cleaning process even easier and more economical, an optional Clean In Place system (CIP) is available for machine types R 535 und R 245, representing a major innovation for thermoformers. CIP provides fully automated chemical cleaning of the internal components, the transport chain and the chain guide rail as a complete package or partial packages for individual components. The standardized procedure is automated from the machine control and exactly protocolled. This ensures that specified cleaning cycles or quantities and compositions of cleaning chemicals can be adhered to. The cleaning process can be repeated in exactly the same way each time, enabling a higher level of security that all necessary steps regarding consumer protection have been performed - combined with a lower work and cost expenditure.

More information: www.multivac.com