The availability of a wide range of food types is an essential cornerstone of modern life. For each of us, food and drink are a source of satisfaction, health and well-being. The food production industry, however, is confronted by increasingly complex and at the same time constantly evolving and changing demands, whether from government regulations, the impacts of digitalisation or changing consumer preferences. Food and beverage producers must, therefore, find the right balance between strict hygiene requirements and the pressure to reduce costs and optimise processes.
Food safety and hygiene are of course top priorities for the food and beverage industry, as consumers rightly expect that the products they choose meet the highest quality and safety standards.
Although the use of stainless steel enclosures is common practice in the industry, they often can still carry an overlooked risk of contamination. Hygienic Design enclosures are a smarter alternative to ensure complete cleanliness in hygiene-sensitive processes.
Meanwhile, using smart climate control solutions to reduce energy consumption is a decisive factor in the industry’s efforts to save not only costs but also minimise ecological damage and its environmental footprint.
As manufacturers face up to the challenges of Industry 4.0 as well as battle to remain competitive, high-performance control system and network enclosures, in combination with innovative IT solutions, play a pivotal role.
Rittal offers the food and drinks industry a made-to-measure customer-specific range of enclosures for all hygiene zones, including solutions for low-carbon production. These technologically advanced system solutions are designed to meet all current standards, regulations, directives and guidelines, and enable highly efficient, hygiene-compliant production.
In essence, the closer the contact between production parts and components and the food product, the higher the necessary standards need to be met. In food production, a distinction is made between three different hygiene zones.
The red zone is subject to the highest hygiene levels and standards, because this is where there is regular contact with food products. The yellow zone, with medium hygiene demands, covers areas and machines where contact with the food product is possible, for example through splashing. The green zone, finally, comprises all areas and equipment within the factory where there is no direct contact with the food product and therefore hygiene demands are lowest. It should be noted, however, that these areas are often cleaned together with the more critical zones, and that stricter standards and levels of hygiene then apply. The production conditions, the hygiene demands to be met and the corresponding cleaning intervals, therefore, vary from one production area to the next. But with enclosures specifically designed for any distinct hygiene zone, food and drink manufacturers can be assured that their products meet not only the highest possible standards but also comply with the strictest rules and regulations of the food and beverage industry at the same time.
Hygiene is absolutely essential in the food industry. Health risks from germs attributable to unhygienic production or storage conditions damage the quality, safety and integrity of food products. Consequently, all machines, systems and equipment must be built to withstand without issue intensive daily cleaning processes, for example, using high-pressure or steam-jet cleaning. Surfaces should be designed to allow easy cleaning in order to prevent any dirt build-up and contamination. For food and drink manufacturers, any hygiene-related incident can often mean significant production losses, costly product recalls, legal proceedings and considerable harm to the brand image.
And quietly working away in the background of the food production process are the invisible unsung heroes – the system control and network enclosures. They guarantee a reliable power supply and at the same time enable precise control of the production processes. The consequences of a failure or malfunction in these systems go far beyond just lost production; they could also trigger unregulated processing or production which endangers food safety. Strict hygiene standards are imperative wherever food is produced, and the enclosures installed on the production line must also fully comply with these standards in order to minimise the risk of contamination.
Stainless steel enclosures are the proven standard in today's food industry, but even they can sometimes fall short of expectations, especially if the problem of dead spaces and dirt traps is not addressed. In such cases, a Hygienic Design enclosure is the most suitable choice. Current standards, regulations, directives and guidelines stipulate the hygiene requirements that need to be met by control system and network enclosures, but specific and detailed know-how and knowledge to install the correct solution is often lacking in practice. Enclosures designed in accordance with “Hygienic Design criteria” promise dependable cleanliness in hygienically highly sensitive areas.
According to the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, a total of 243 food product recalls were reported to the relevant authorities in 2023. In almost a third of these cases, microbiological contamination was given as the reason for these alerts. Many of the product recalls could have been avoided if the manufacturers concerned had imposed and enforced hygiene-optimised process environments, which further underlines the importance of Hygienic Design in the food processing and production industry.
Rittal has available and offers not only a comprehensive portfolio of stainless steel enclosures, but also a wide range of Hygienic Design enclosures specifically developed for the demands and challenges of the food and beverage industry.
Rittal Hygienic Design is a design approach that is totally focussed on enabling the simplest possible cleaning of equipment, machines and production lines. Detailed criteria regarding materials, design features and use of equipment ensure that all statutory requirements and regulations are met. With the Hygienic Design product range, Rittal offers not only solutions for small, compact and large enclosures, but at the same time sets uncompromising standards in terms of hygiene-compliant production, maximum productivity and increased food safety.
The food industry accounts for around 30 per cent of worldwide energy consumption and contributes around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. With the world population predicted to grow to 10 billion by 2050, the demand for food will only continue to increase. Against this background, and also with regard to the challenges of climate change, it is increasingly important to reduce both emissions and energy consumption in the food and beverage industry.
On the one hand, the demand for sustainable products is on the increase, but at the same time, the pressure to reduce costs and optimise processes is more intense than ever. The challenge for companies in the food industry – if they want to operate sustainably and remain successful in the long term – is to reconcile these apparently conflicting aspects. Increasing energy costs are also forcing food manufacturers to operate more efficiently. The industry is characterised by narrow margins and a fiercely competitive marketplace. Energy-efficient climate control solutions to reduce energy consumption are one way to significantly minimise the industry’s ecological footprint and simultaneously to boost profitability and competitiveness.
Rittal helps to reduce the carbon footprint of machines and production equipment with efficient climate control solutions, flexible power distribution systems and smart service design. The globally unique hybrid technology of Blue e+ achieves on average energy savings of 75% compared to conventional cooling systems. That reduces the carbon footprint significantly and makes an important contribution to climate neutrality. The extended service life of the equipment installed in the enclosure, the suitability for use worldwide as well as a wide range of digital service options ensure greater sustainability at all levels.
In today’s world of ever increasing and more sophisticated technology, food safety plays a decisive role, both for consumers and for producers. Efficient processes and reliable control systems and procedures are essential for compliance with the strict quality standards and regulations of the industry. High-performance control system and network enclosures, in combination with modern IT solutions, play a pivotal role. They enable the comprehensive monitoring, management and control of all important processes in food and beverage production.
Sensors continuously record key factors such as temperature, humidity and pressure, while automation systems respond accordingly to any changes. The logged data is not only processed locally, but also shared with higher-level networks in real time. This creates a networked infrastructures that ensures the early detection of any potential risks or hazards. Food manufacturers are responsible for monitoring all stages of their production, processing and distribution. Accurate and precise traceability is critical for a fast and appropriate response in the event of a product recall or quality issues.
IT solutions enable seamless end-to-end documentation and the management and tracking of every step in the process. This not only improves transparency across the entire supply chain, but also boosts consumer confidence in the safety of products. The ability of a company to provide proof of origin and traceability of its products can strengthen customer faith in the brand.
Rittal offers complete IT infrastructure systems, edge data centres for Industry 4.0 applications and modular solutions for data management. Alongside this, software provider Eplan, a sister company of Rittal, ensures fully integrated end-to-end digitalisation which spans the entire process, from design, planning and engineering via digital manufacturing to the provision of up-to-the-minute data to support service and maintenance work. With the digital wiring plan pocket Rittal ePOCKET, machine and system documentation is always up to date. This means that circuit diagrams, for example, which typically are subject to constant revisions and amendments, are always current and can now be called up immediately in their latest version at any time, on any device and from any location. This innovative solution streamlines processes across the entire value chain and leads to considerable time and cost savings.