light to certain forms of advertising campaigns rather Education and familiarity with GM products may'

than facilitating informed choice. eventually enable consumers to accept these arguments,
The argument that there is no need to separate out the but the introduction of GM products without adequate
GM soy because it is designated safe, and equivalent, by consideration of consumer concerns may have been
the regulatory authorities, may be valid on safety grounds, premature. Maybe the old adage 'the customer is always
but consumers could perceive that Big Business is playing right' should be remembered.
Big Brother, and that they are being coerced into accept-
ance by removal of consumer choice. The voluntary pro- References
vision of information in response to consumer interest - 1 DoE/ACREPublic Register(7 January,1997) Index of Public RegisterEntries for
Applications to Market GMOs Under Directive 90/220, Departmentof the
including labelling where this makes sense - is being Environment BiotechnologyUnit, London, UK
encouraged, and may yet become a legal requirement. 2 Campden& Chorleywood Food RA (1996) Biotech Club Bulletin, No. 2,
Certainly, many large food chains have taken this re- Campden & Chorleywood Food RA, Chipping Campden, UK
3 MonsantoAgriculture (1996) Herbicide Use Todayand After the Introduction
sponsibility to their customers seriously, and have invested of Roundup ReadyTM Soybeans,Monsanto Europe, Brussels,Belgium
in providing simple, but accurate information on the pro- 4 MonsantoAgriculture (1996) The Life ofa Soyabean: The Diverse, Complex
cess of genetic engineering and what this means in terms Path It Can Take,Monsanto Europe,Brussels,Belgium
of product safety and nutritional quality. Consumer surveys 5 The Advisory Committeeon Novel Foodsand Processes(1996) The Use of
Antibiotic ResistanceMarkers in Genetically Modified Plants for Human Food:
are reported to show a slightly increased acceptance of Clarification of Principles for Decision Making, ACNFP, c/o Ministry, of
foods made from GM plants and animals among con- Agriculture, Fisheriesand Food, London, UK
sumers with a greater knowledge of genetic modification ~l. 6 Webb, V. and Davies,J. (1994) 'Accidental Releaseof Antibiotic-resistance
Genes' in TrendsBiotechnol. 12, 74-75
However, provision of information can go only so far.
7 FoodAdvisory Committee (1996) PressRelease, 19 December 1996, p. 2, UK
To help ensure their views are heard, more consumers Food Advisory Committee, London, UK
should make use of such information to familiarize 8 Anon. (1997) 'EuropeansLabelling US Soybeans'in Biotech ReporterJanuary,
themselves with the science, concepts and issues. A bet- 1-2
9 Polkinghome,J. et al. (1993) Reportof the Committee on the Ethicsof Genetic
ter understanding will enable consumers to discriminate Modification and Food Use, Her Majesty'sStationery,Office, London, UK
between fact, commercial hype and sensationalist scare 10 Frewer, L., Howard, C. and Shepherd,R. (1997i 'Public Concerns in the
stories, and to demand the answers they need to perti- United KingdomAbout General and SpecificApplications of Genetic
nent questions. Consumers and their spokespeople Engineering:Risk, Benefitand Ethics' in Sci. TechnoL Hum. Values22(I), 98 124
11 Consumers'Associationand Scottish ConsumerCouncil (1996) Joint Position
therefore also have a responsibility to themselves to Paper 'Genetically Modified Soya in the UK - ConsumerConcerns', Scottish
ensure they are making an informed choice. ConsumerCouncil, Glasgow, UK

EHEDG Update
Hygienic pipe couplings Pipe couplings are the most frequently used elements of
modern food processing equipment. Wherever connec-
tions are made between plant elements (e.g. pumps,
This paper, the 18th in a series of EHEDG Updates to appear valves, filters, vessels), a dismountable joint creates
in TIFS, presents an extended summary of newly released possibilities for maintenance, quick replacement, or
changes in the processing sequence or product flow
guidelines for ensuring the hygienic design of pipe couplings
route.
for use in food processing equipment. The guidelines, recom- Because pipe couplings are typically mass produced,
mended by the Pipe Couplings subgroup of the European they were among the first items to be standardized. The
Hygienic Equipment Design Group and approved by the basic designs specified in the most important standards
EHEDG, identify design parameters necessary to produce currently used in Europe ~.-~are now 30-35 years old. As
the development of products and processing methods
pipe sealing systems that are easy to clean or sterilize in-
has resulted in more sensitive products and more severe
place, and are bacteria tight, reliable and easy to install. The process conditions, in many cases pipe couplings are
EHEDG is an independent consortium formed to develop operating at the limit of their capabilities, with increas-
guidelines and test methods for various aspects of the safe ing risk of failure from hygienic as well as mechanical
and hygienic processing of food; the group includes represen- points of view.
This increasing risk and the related failures have
tatives from research institutes, the food industry, equipment prompted equipment users and manufacturers to design
manufacturers and government organizations in Europe*. improved couplings. Thus, almost every major equip-
ment supplier now has their own type of coupling, re-
* Readers requiring further information on the EHEDG are referred to Trends ducing equipment versatility and increasing costs to
in Food Science & Technology (1992~ Vol. 3(111, p. 277. users and manufacturers.

88 Copyright@[Link],.ierScienceLid ~.11rightsreser,,ed.0924 2244/97/'$17.00 Trends in Food Science & Technology March 1997 [Vol. 8]
PlI: S09~4-~244C97,010~( 0
For this reason the EHEDG instituted a subgroup on ensure reliable bacteria tightness. In the case of most
Pipe Couplings to study the problems and prepare rec- elastomers, there is a direct relationship between hard-
ommendations that may lead to satisfactory standards. ness and resilience. Loss of resilience is mainly caused
by ageing, which is a slow vulcanization process.
Remit and objectives of the subgroup Although manufacturers take measures to retard ageing,
The objectives of the subgroup were to identify and it cannot be prevented.
define design parameters for sealing systems for dis- The main factors that promote ageing are temperature
mountable welded pipe couplings that have the follow- and deformation. Because the operating temperature is
ing characteristics: usually a given factor, the only measure that can be
• easy to clean in-place; taken is to ensure that the gasket is exposed to the heat
source as little as possible and that heat flux is diverted
• sterilizable in-place; away from the gasket.
• impervious to microorganisms; Deformation of the gasket can be influenced by the
design of the joint, It is recommended to limit the com-
• easy to install; pression rate to 20-25%, by careful design, to achieve
• reliable. an acceptable degree of reliability.

The subgroup has specified 'reliability' as: Gasket surface condition

Because the gasket is in direct contact with the prod-
• resistant to processing conditions between -10°C at
uct, the surface must be cleanable. Assuming that the
25 bar and 120°C at <120 bar;
elastomer has appropriate chemical and thermal resist-
• resistant to steam sterilization at 140°C at an over- ance, two parameters can adversely influence gasket
pressure of 3 bar for 20 min; cleanability: the presence of pores, and the development
of cracks.
• compatible with and resistant to product media and
Pores may result from the surface roughness of the
chemicals used for cleaning and sterilization;
mould used to produce injection-moulded gaskets. The
• bacteria tight under all temperature and pressure con- surface roughness should be as low as possible. It is
ditions mentioned above; recommended that gaskets be produced by experienced
manufacturers only.
• having a useful lifetime of - l year.
For a list of definitions of other terms used, please see
Ref. 3. Box 1. Summaryof criticaldesignparameters

Sealing: basic principles of bacteria tightness Critical designparameter Recommendation

Making a joint impervious to microorganisms is rela- Resilient gasket material Use elastomer gaskets 70o Shore A
tively easy if one understands the basic principles of
Surface roughness Metal faces <0.8 I~m Ra
static sealing. As the objective is to prevent the retention
Gasket surface as smooth as possible
of product soils and the passage of microorganisms,
there must be no passageways in the joint through Contact pressure Minimum 1.5 N/ram2
which microorganisms can pass. Maximum 2.5 N/ram2
The EHEDG recommends a maximum surface rough- Pores at product-contact surface Metal parts: no pores
ness value of 0.8 Ixm Ra (32 txin RMS, or - 4 fxm Rz) for Gasket: no pores >1 p,m
the sealing faces of coupling parts. Friction Avoid sliding during compression
If the surface profile is too rough, 'valleys' in the sur- Develop low-friction elastomers
face will allow the passage of bacteria and thus need
to be filled; an elastomer gasket pressed onto the surface Expansion rate of elastomers is Minimize elastomer volume
15-fold that of stainless steel Make bi-directional expansion possible
is commonly used. A minimum contact pressure of
1.5 N/mm 2 is required when using a 70 ° Shore A hard- Elastomers are not compressible, Allow room to accommodate deformed
ness elastomer; this is obtained when the gasket is but can be deformed gasket
compressed by 15% of its original thickness. Recessof gasket at product side <0.2mm

Critical design parameters Protrusion of gasket at product side <0.2 mm

When designing a static seal using an elastomer gas- Stress in elastomers Avoid tensile stress
ket, several characteristics have to be considered very Limit compression to 20-25%
carefully. These are summarized in Box 1. Tolerances Critical areas:
Location of coupling halves
Resilience Compression of gasket
Resilience is undoubtedly the most important charac- Inside diameters
teristic. A resilient gasket will maintain a high enough Damage to sealing faces Protect faces against damage
pressure on the metal sealing faces of a coupling to

Trends in Food Science & Technology March 1997 [Vol. 8] 89

which may result in shear damage to the gasket surface
(a) (b)
Oasket compression when the gasket expands sideways during compression.
If a lubricant is used, the friction factor may be reduced
by a factor of 15; however, this is not practical because
the unevenly distributed friction makes it very difficult to
development
control the shape and position of the gasket when com-
pressing it between stainless steel surfaces. A better solu-
tion would be to develop a suitable low-friction elastomer.

Fig. 1 Dynamic behaviour of static seals

Sharp corners may cause cracks (a); these can be prevented by a Thermal expansion
rounded design that gives gradual transition from high to low stress (b). The thermal expansion of elastomers may be as much
as 15-fold greater (for silicone rubber) than that of stain-
less steels. If thermal expansion is not properly consid-
Avoiding locating the split line of the mould at the ered, the gaskets may be seriously damaged, making
product-contact surface of the gasket is also very impor- them unfit for cleaning in-place and possibly contami-
tant. In some cases, removal of the resulting burrs by nating the product with small pieces of elastomer (Fig. 2).
grinding or blasting affected the integrity and cleanabil- The effects may be reduced by selecting a smaller-
ity of the surface. sized gasket, or by providing the possibility of expansion
Surface compressive stress in the gasket during to the non-product side. When doing so, care must be taken
moulding and curing must be obtained by optimal mould to ensure that product pressure will not force the gasket
design and/or controlled injection pressure to prevent into this expansion recess. The area of the gasket that is
the formation of an unacceptable number of open pores. exposed to product must be kept as small as possible.
It should be ensured that any plasticizers or accelera-
tors present in the elastomer, which may be transformed Deformation of the gasket due to exterior forces
into gas (peroxide) bubbles, do not result in pores on the Elastomers can be deformed, but their volume cannot
surface of the gasket. be reduced. This means that when a flat gasket is com-
When designing a gasket, care must be taken to mini- pressed so that the thickness is reduced by say 20%, that
mize tensile stresses that occur at the product-contact the width of the gasket is increased by 25%, assuming
surface as a result of deformation and thermal expan- that the length can be kept constant.
sion, because stress promotes elastomer oxidation. As a consequence, a considerable amount of move-
ment occurs at the edges of the gasket. In view of the
Development of cracks inconsistency of the friction between stainless steel and
Cracks will develop not only when excessive tensile elastomers, it is extremely difficult to predict how the
stresses are present, but also when the gasket geometry gasket will deform.
results in large differences in compressive stress (Fig. 1). To minimize these undesirable effects, it is recom-
Making the transition from high to low stress more mended that the width of the compressed part of a gas-
gradual can prevent crack development, ket is reduced as much as possible and that possibilities
for its expansion in two directions are provided.
Surface damage due to friction A further possibility to reduce the effects of friction
The coefficient of friction between stainless steel and is to avoid even compression of the gasket by using a
elastomers can be as high as 0.3 under dry conditions, profiled section that 'involutes' along the sealing faces
rather than sliding under compression (Fig. 3).
(a) (b) (c)
Manufacturing tolerances
Manufacturers tend to use wide tolerances, which
reduce production costs. However, the requirement for
easy cleanability requires a smooth joint, and thus toler-
ances that are as tight as possible.
o Damage By performing cleaning tests we determined that, if the
20°C "~ >I00°C "~ 20°C inside diameters of the couplings differed by _<0.4mm,
cleanability was not affected. The width of the gasket is
Fig. 2 not very critical, provided it is in the range 1-4 mm. For
Damage to an O-ring gasket due to thermal effects. If the temperature is raised a threaded coupling to meet the requirements of in-place
cleanability, the misalignment must be <0.2 mm.
from 20°C (a) to >100°C (b), the volume of the O-ring increases more than the
volume of the stainless steel groove in which it is enclosed. Thus, elastomer Identification
extrudes through the gap between the male part and the liner. Theoretically, it will It is important that couplings can be identified. If the
retract to its original position when the temperature is lowered, but friction, loss of material can be identified by a marking on the related
resilience and the sharp edges of the gap may damage the surface (c). parts, it will not only allow the cause of problems to be

90 Trends in Food Science & Technology March 1997 [Vol. 8]

traced, in case of failures, but it will also help to avoid
problems due to errors when parts are taken from stock.
Current techniques allow the marking of metal parts
in such a way that there are no adverse effects. The
marking of elastomer parts is more difficult because the
marking has to be integrated into the mould. This results
in an embossed marking which, if situated in a critical
area, may affect the proper functioning of the part.
r
Specially designed profiled gaskets can most easily
incorporate a marking.
It is recommended that the following information is Fig. 3
marked on coupling parts: manufacturer, material, size, 'Involution' of the gasket during compression.
pressure limit (metal parts only) and temperature limit
(gasket only). It is also recommended that manufacturers sterilizability and reliability is difficult. Because the
are certified (e.g. to ISO 9001) to ensure consistent quality. shape of the gasket is a given factor, design freedom is
limited. The only variables available are the size of the
Design of a sealing system using the 'critical design gasket and the geometry of the sealing faces.
parameters'
The designs shown in Fig. 4 were made taking into Size of the gasket
account the critical design parameters described above Experience from testing O-ring gaskets at limiting
and summarized in Box 1. temperatures shows that most damage is suffered as a
The main features are: result of thermal expansion and shrinkage of the gasket.
Comparison of thermal effects on O-rings with a
• The gasket material cannot be overstressed owing to
diameter of 5.0 mm or 3.55 mm showed that the larger-
mechanical limitation of the deformation of the gasket.
diameter O-ring clearly experiences a lower percentage
Maximum deformation is 20% at the product interface.
volume deviation. Other reasons to prefer a thicker gas-
• The volume of the functional part of the gasket is ket are better mechanical stability, and easier manufac-
minimal to limit the effects of thermal expansion. The ture when narrow tolerances must be applied. An O-ring
sectional area of the seal lip is only 3.2ram 2, which joint in which the usual temperature stress and clean-
equals that for a 2-mm O-ring. ability problems were avoided has been designed by
Tuchenhagen (Btichen, Germany) using finite element
• Only a small area of the gasket is exposed to the prod-
analysis.
uct (the gasket width is only 1 ram).
• To give the gasket some stiffness to assist handling, it Standardization
has a solid shoulder, which has room for expansion. One of the objectives of the EHEDG is to advise inter-
This allows the small functional part of the gasket to national standards organizations with respect to the
expand in two directions. To prevent air being trapped standardization of hygienic equipment. The intention of
between the gasket shoulder and the male-part groove, the subgroup on Pipe Couplings is to use the results of
small slits are provided on the outside, to act as vents. its efforts for a European standards proposal.
In view of demands by the German industries for a pipe
• The solid shoulder offers excellent possibilities for coupling with superior hygienic and aseptic characteristics,
identification.
• Offset of the male part and the liner is prevented by a r
minimum-tolerance design.
I

)
• The gasket is press-fitted into the recess of the male
part, preventing it from dropping out.
• The rather sharp sealing faces are well protected
against impact damage because they are situated in a
recess in the metal coupling parts.
A prototype of this coupling has been designed and
manufactured by APV-Rosista (Unna K6nigsborn,
Germany). Tests showed that the design complied with
all requirements, and clearly showed the importance of
a smooth surface for the cleanability of the gasket.

Design of a sealing system using an O-ring gasket Fig.4

The design of a sealing system using an existing gas- Proposed coupling designs that take into account all of the critical design
ket and still meeting the requirements of cleanability, parameters identified. See text for details.

Trends in Food Science & Technology March 1997 [Vol. 8] 91

cooperation between the EHEDG and the related
This paper presents an extended summary of t h e
German standards organization Deutsches Institut fiir
guidelines recommended by the European H y g i e n i c
Normung (DIN) has been established. The proposals by
Equipment Design Group (EHEDG) subgroup on
the EHEDG subgroup have been accepted, and stan-
Pipe Couplings. Copies of the full report, by F.
dards proposals have been developed for both the APV-
Baumbach, J.P. Dubois, W. Grell, H.R. Goodfellow,
designed profiled gasket and the Tuchenhagen-designed
G. Hauser, A.G. Hendriks, D. Nanz, J.A.A.M. van der
O-ring gasket, in a screwed-coupling version (DIN
Pol, S. Thomaschki, D.A. Timperley and S. Zahrer,
11861-1) and a flanged version (DIN 11861-2). Both
are available from the EHEDG Secretary: J.T. Holah,
proposals will be ready for public comments early in
Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association
1997.
(CCFRA), Chipping Campden, UK GL55 6LD
Further presentation of the standards to international
(tel. +44-1386-842041; fax: +44-1386-842100).
standards organizations such as the CEN and ISO must
be left to the DIN. EHEDG members may also be re-
questing their respective national standards organiz-
ations to support the presented proposals. References
1 DIN 11851 (1963) Rohrverschraubung aus Nichtrostenden Stahl,
Deutsches Institut for Normung, Beuth Verlag GmbH, Berlin/K6ln,
Acknowledgements Germany
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions 2 ISO 2853 (1976) Stainless Steel Screwed Couplings for the Food Industry,
of members of the 3-A Steering Committee, resulting International Organization for Standardization
from cooperation between this organization and the 3 EHEDG (1993)'Hygienic Equipment Design Criteria' in Trends FoodSci.
EHEDG. Technol. 4, 225-229

Conference Report
1st European Symposium
pentose xylose, with branches of the pentose arabinose.

on Enzymes in Grain The arabinose can then be crosslinked via ferulic or

coumaric acids to other cell-wall constituents such as
protein. Although they account for only 2-3% of the
wheat grain by weight, pentosans are responsible for
Processing* absorbing 20-30% of the available water during dough
mixing. This is then released during baking, causing re-
lated problems. The pentosanases are a diverse group of
enzymes that degrade pentosans and not only alleviate
these problems but also, in some cases, actually enhance
Robert Muller bread quality. It is, however, unclear which pentosan-
ases are best suited to baking and how they achieve this
enhancement.

My small son was very excited when he heard that I Endogenous enzymes in wheat
would be visiting The Netherlands: he hoped that I Thus, one of the highlights of the meeting was pro-
would meet Peter Pan. Although a little confused by vided by G. Beldman (Wageningen Agricultural Uni-
this, I promised to let him know if I did. I certainly versity, The Netherlands), who offered a detailed exami-
met many other people, because the meeting was well nation of the modes of action of some microbial and
attended by some 130 participants. endogenous arabinoxylan-degrading enzymes. Working
The roles of pentosans and pentosanases in baking is with the different enzymes of Aspergillus spp., he was
clearly a 'hot topic' at the moment: at least 10 of the 26 able to translate the reaction products obtained into an
presentations given at the meeting were on this theme, understanding of the sites of action of the different
and related cell-wall issues. The pentosans are non- enzymes. Thus, endoxylanases I, I1 and III act at different
starch polysaccharides, being linear polymers of the sites to produce different products. Type-II endoxyl-
anases were considered likely to be most useful during
* Held in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 2-4 December 1996 baking. Type-IIt action results in an increase in vis-
cosity followed by a decrease, whereas Type-I action
Robert Muller is at 8RF International, Lyttel Hall, Nuffield, Redhill, UK degrades pentosans without any preliminary viscosity
RH1 4HY (fax: +44-0-1737-822747). increase due to solubilization. Although all the tissues

92 Copyright@[Link]~d All rightsreserved.0924 2244/97/$17Oil Trends in Food Science & Technology March 1997 [Vo]. 8]
PII: S 0 9 2 4 - 2 2 4 4 1 9 7 } 0 1 0 0 0 •