International standardization of the food industry

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The food industry encompasses a very large number of categories and subcategories. Since its regulation occurs both at the global and at the local level, considering this area, it is necessary to understand that its control is carried out both in the part where it comes to the production of products, their use and preparation, as well as the technologies used in the above-mentioned processes. Since food technologies are primarily responsible for human health, therefore, special attention is paid to their regulation. To create a clear regulatory framework for the food industry, a large number of international standards have been created. If your company operates in the service sector that comes into contact with food, we recommend that you pay attention to the list of international standards below.

Food processing machinery - Automatic dough dividers - Safety and hygiene requirements

EN 12042:2014+A1:2020

Food safety and hygiene has always been an important issue. And in the light of recent events, they are critically significant. One of the international standards regulating this category is EN 12042: 2014 + A1: 2020.

This European Standard applies to the design and manufacture of standalone automatic dough dividers having a feed hopper, and which can be used separately or in a line in the food industry and shops (pastry making, bakeries, confectionery etc.) for dividing and additionally for moulding/rounding dough or pastry into adjustable portions to produce the required weight of dough piece during a dividing process. These machines can be fed by hand or mechanically.

This European Standard deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to the transport, installation, adjustment, operation, cleaning, maintenance, dismantling, disassembling and scrapping of automatic dough dividers, when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer (see Clause 4).

These machines are not intended to be cleaned with pressurized water.

This European Standard is not applicable to the following:

experimental and testing machines, under development by the manufacturer;
weighing devices;
pressure dough dividers, without a feed hopper, using knives for the dividing process;
lines with separate cutting or forming elements outside the housing;
lifting and tilting machines ) or other separate feeding machines;
additional hazards generated when the machine is used in a line or mechanically feed.

A noise test code is included in Annex A to assist manufacturers to measure noise levels for the purpose of the noise emission declaration. This European Standard is not applicable to machines which are manufactured before its publication as EN.

The relevance of this standard cannot be overestimated, which is why we strongly recommend having it in stock if your activity comes into contact with the food industry.

Food processing machinery - Rotary rack ovens - Safety and hygiene requirements

EN 1673:2020

Since the issue of hygiene and safety concerns not only the entire industry, but also characterizes its subcategories in detail, such international regulatory documents as EN 1673: 2020 are created.

This document specifies safety and hygiene requirements for the design and manufacture of rotary rack ovens which can be used with one or more mobile racks.

These ovens are intended for professional use in the food industry and workshops (bakeries, pastry-making, etc.) for the batch baking of foodstuffs containing flour, water and other ingredients and/or additives. This document applies to ovens used only for food products except for those containing volatile flammable ingredients (volatile organic compound, e.g. alcohol, oil, …). This document applies to ovens where the steam is generated by an evaporation process of drinking water on hot surfaces.

The following machines are excluded:

experimental and testing machines under development by the manufacturer; machines for non-professional uses.

NOTE Due to the fact that rotary rack ovens are intended for professional uses, EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-42 are not applicable. This document covers the technical safety requirements for the transport, installation, operation, cleaning and maintenance of these machines (see EN ISO 12100:2010, Clause 6).

This document deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to rotary rack ovens when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer (see informative Annex C).

The following hazards are not covered by this document:

hazards from the use of gaseous fuel by gas appliances;
hazards arising from electromagnetic compatibility issues;
hazards from the use of trays made of or coated by silicone; hazards due to dismantling, disabling and scrapping.

This document does not deal with noise emitted by the machine. This document is not applicable to rotary rack ovens which were manufactured before the date of its publication as an EN.

This standard has a certain number of amendments and clarifications that will give you the opportunity to more transparently understand whether it is possible to use this document and implement it into an existing system in your production or organization.

Safety of machinery - Relationship with ISO 12100 - Part 4: Guidance to machinery manufacturers for consideration of related IT-security (cyber security) aspects (ISO/TR 22100-4:2018)

CEN ISO/TR 22100-4:2020

As in any other industry in the food industry, a large number of machinery is used for which separate rules and regulations are created to minimize possible risks. One of the main documents in the context of this issue is CEN ISO / TR 22100-4: 2020.

This document gives machine manufacturers guidance on potential security aspects in relation to safety of machinery when putting a machine into service or placing on the market for the first time. It provides essential information to identify and address IT-security threats which can influence safety of machinery.

This document gives guidance but does not provide detailed specifications on how to address IT-security aspects which can influence safety of machinery.

This document does not address the bypass or defeat of risk reduction measures through physical manipulation.

If you are operating in an activity that involves the use or sale and production of the aforementioned equipment, we recommend that you consult in more detail with professionals in the field of selection of international standards to clarify the picture of what exactly this document will help you and make sure it is necessary to purchase it. Machine tools safety - Presses - Part 2: Safety requirement for mechanical presses (ISO 16092-2:2019)

EN ISO 16092-2:2020

Some international standards are not created by themselves as an addition to certain international documents to clarify specific details and adapt to new technologies. One example of such standards is EN ISO 16092-2: 2020.

This document, in addition to ISO 16092-1, specifies technical safety requirements and measures to be adopted by persons undertaking the design, manufacture and supply of the following groups of mechanical presses and mechanical press production systems:

— Group 1: Presses with a part revolution clutch(es); — Group 2: Presses with a servo drive system (Mechanical servo presses).

Requirements in this document are essentially applicable to both groups of the mechanical press. If a requirement applies to only one group, then the group is specified.

Other types of motorized drive systems provide similar functionalities to what is commonly called "servo drives" or "servo motors", and as such their use is considered the same within the terms used in this document (e.g. variable frequency drive systems). The presses covered by this document range in size from small high-speed machines with a single operator producing small workpieces to large relatively slow-speed machines with several operators and large complex workpieces.

This document deals with all significant hazards relevant to mechanical presses and ancillary devices (e.g. moving die cushions, work-piece ejectors, feeding and transfer systems) which are integral to the machine, when they are used as intended and under the conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer (see Clause 4). All phases of the machine life cycle as described in ISO 12100:2010, 5.4 have been taken into consideration.

All significant hazards means those identified or associated with presses at the time of the publication of this document. In addition to machines not covered by ISO 16092-1:2017, this document does not cover machines which: a) transmit energy to impart press slide motion by using hydraulic or pneumatic means; b) have two or more slides moving in different angular orientations from each other;

This document applies to presses which have two or more slides moving in the same angular orientations, e.g. a press which has inner and outer slides. c) transmit energy to impart press slide motion by using a linear motor mechanism(s).

If you work in the field of food technology, at first glance, this standard may seem one hundred percent suitable for your business. Nevertheless, we recommend checking it against the technological base of your organization, since this particular document has a very large number of amendments.

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Safety of machinery -- Relationship with ISO 12100

ISO/TR 22100-2:2013

One of the types of standards are international documents that legally explain the difference between different standards in the same industry, as well as the possibility of their joint application and taking into account all amendments to minimize possible damage from their application. One such international standard is ISO / TR 22100-2: 2013.

ISO/TR 22100-2:2013 describes the general relationship between ISO 12100 and ISO 13849‑1 used to reduce the risk of harm. It focuses on the use of safety-related parts of control systems in relation to risk assessment and the risk reduction process.

If you use the documents specified in this standard in place, or they periodically overlap in the field of your activity, we strongly recommend that you be familiar with the structure of this standard and the information given in it.

Food processing machinery - Slicing machines - Safety and hygiene requirements

EN 1974:2020

International standards are created even for such devices that can be used both professionally and in everyday life. A prime example of international standardization for a slicer is EN 1974: 2020.

This document specifies the safety and hygiene requirements for the design and manufacture, installation, training, use, cleaning and maintenance of slicing machines which are fitted with a motor-driven blade of more than 150 mm in diameter, provided with a product support. These types of slicing machines are intended to be used in shops, restaurants, supermarkets, canteens, etc. to slice foodstuffs.

This document deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to slicing machines, when they are used as intended by the manufacturer (see Clause 4).

This document applies to the hazards arising during all the phases of the life of the machine as described in EN ISO 12100:2010, 5.4. Automatic industrial slicing machines covered by EN 16743:2016 are excluded from the scope of this document.

This document covers the following types of slicing machines: - horizontal feed slicing machine (see Figure 1); - gravity feed slicing machine (see Figure 2).

Both types can have an either hand-operated or power-operated carriage to move the product towards the blade. They both can be fitted with manual or automatic devices to receive and convey the slices away from the machine. All these types can also be provided with a scale. This document applies to machines which are manufactured after the date of issue of this document.

Since this standard has a large number of technological aspects and also warns its owner against possible negative consequences, this document is required for every business in which this equipment is used.

Technology impacts food

All of the above documents provide a clear detailed technical description of those technologies that are being introduced into the food industry today. As you can see, some of the parts of the same document may complement each other, but the presence of all the standards of a certain subcategory is not required for the same organization. The scope of international standardization is a complex concept and therefore requires the same approach. If your organization is interested in purchasing documents to create a high-quality system and minimize possible risks, we recommend that you consult in more detail with a team of professionals before purchasing the documents you need.