Hygienic Components in the Food Industry: Clamp Joints, Hoses and Diaphragm Valves for Dairy Products, Beverages and Canned Goods

The food, cosmetics, and fine chemicals industries share a fundamental requirement with the pharmaceutical industry: components in contact with the product must guarantee maximum hygiene, be easily cleanable, and be manufactured with safe and documented materials. Clamp gaskets, hoses, silicone tubing, diaphragm valves, and fittings are the same components, but each industry has its own specific processes, regulations, and operating conditions. In this article, we review the most relevant applications for each sector.

Dairy Industry: Extreme Hygiene in Every Connection

The processing of milk and dairy products is one of the most demanding environments for hygienic process components. Pasteurization, ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurization, and cheese, yogurt, and butter production plants must comply with EU Regulation 852/2004 and the EHEDG guidelines.

Clamp gaskets in dairy applications: EPDM gaskets are the most widely used due to their excellent resistance to steam and CIP cleaning agents (caustic soda and nitric acid). In ultra-high purity applications or direct contact with sensitive products, food-grade platinum silicone is preferred.

Diaphragm valves in dairy applications: they control flow in pasteurizers, packaging lines, and CIP systems. Their dead-zone-free design prevents the accumulation of dairy residues that could be a source of microbiological contamination. 316L stainless steel with a surface finish Ra ≤ 0.8 μm is the standard.

Food-grade hoses: In connections between tanks, heat exchangers and packaging machines, food-grade silicone or EPDM hoses with clamp terminals facilitate quick connection and disconnection and disassembly for cleaning.

Peristaltic tubing for dairy applications: dosing of starter cultures, rennet, and additives in cheese and yogurt production. Food-grade silicone tubing is the standard choice due to its compatibility with fluids and cleaning agents.

Beverage Industry: Beer, Wine, Juices and Soft Drinks

The beverage sector encompasses a huge diversity of processes and fluids, with very different requirements for hygienic components:

Brewery: Beer production involves handling wort, yeast, beer at different stages of brewing, and cleaning agents. Diaphragm valves are the standard control element in fermentation, filtration, and packaging tanks. EPDM gaskets are the most common due to their resistance to the temperature ranges of the brewing process (0°C to 80°C).

Winemaking: Wine is a delicate fluid that can be affected by the migration of compounds from processing materials. Clamp gaskets and hoses in contact with wine must be made of materials that do not impart flavors, odors, or foreign compounds. Food-grade silicone and wine-grade EPDM are the standard choices.

Juices and nectars: Juice processing plants use clamp systems in their flash pasteurization, aseptic packaging, and CIP lines. Silicone peristaltic tubing is used for dosing concentrates and additives.

Water and carbonated beverages: Bottled water and soft drink production facilities use 316L stainless steel diaphragm valves and clamp fittings in their treatment and packaging lines. Applicable regulations include EU Regulation 1935/2004 and the EHEDG guidelines.

Olive Oil and Agri-food Industry

The Spanish olive oil sector, a world leader in olive oil production, is a major consumer of hygienic components for its modern extraction and packaging plants:

Oil extraction: Centrifugal extraction plants use diaphragm valves and stainless steel clamp fittings for process control. The fluids are mixtures of oil, water, and plant solids, requiring materials resistant to these environments.

Packaging: Oil packaging lines use silicone or NBR peristaltic tubes (depending on the oil temperature) for precise dosing in packaging machines.

Vegetable canning: Canning plants use clamp systems in their autoclaves, blanching lines, and packaging lines. EPDM gaskets are the usual choice due to their resistance to steam and heat treatments.

Meat industry: Meat processing plants use diaphragm valves and food-grade hoses in their brining, marinating, and packaging lines. The materials must be compatible with brines and spices.

Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene: Requirements Similar to Pharmacy

The Spanish cosmetics industry, with major companies in Catalonia and Madrid, uses process components very similar to those in pharmaceuticals, although with a different regulatory framework:

EU Regulation 1223/2009: The European Cosmetic Products Regulation establishes the safety requirements for cosmetics. Materials in contact with cosmetic products during manufacturing must be inert and not contaminate the product.

ISO 22716 (GMP for cosmetics): establishes good manufacturing practices for the cosmetics industry. It defines requirements for process materials, equipment, and cleaning systems similar to pharmaceutical GMP.

Clamp gaskets in cosmetics: platinum silicone is the preferred choice for connections in contact with emulsions, creams, and high-purity products. Its chemical inertness prevents the migration of compounds into the product.

Diaphragm valves in cosmetics: they control flow in mixing reactors, homogenization lines, and packaging systems. The design, without dead zones, facilitates cleaning and product changeovers.

Cosmetic hoses: Flexible connections between equipment use food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade silicone hoses. The transparency of the silicone allows for visual inspection of the fluid.

Fine Chemistry: Chemical Resistance Against Everything

The fine chemical industry—synthesis of active ingredients, flavorings, food additives, laboratory reagents—has specific requirements for process components that differ from the conventional food or pharmaceutical industry:

Chemical resistance: Fine chemical fluids include organic solvents, concentrated acids and bases, oxidizers, and high-temperature compounds. Silicone is not always compatible; PTFE, Viton (FKM), or Hastelloy are common materials.

Clamp gaskets in fine chemicals: PTFE gaskets offer the highest chemical resistance. For specific solvents, Viton (FKM) may be required. PTFE is virtually universal in terms of chemical resistance.

Diaphragm valves in fine chemicals: PVDF or PP bodies are used for highly corrosive fluids where stainless steel is unsuitable. Pure PTFE or PTFE/EPDM diaphragms are the most common.

Clamp fittings in fine chemicals: For particularly corrosive fluids, fittings in Hastelloy C-276 or PVDF are alternatives to standard 316L steel.

Peristaltic tubes for fine chemicals: Marprene and Norprene are the benchmarks for their superior chemical resistance to silicone against aggressive solvents and reagents.

Conclusion

Clamp joints, hoses, silicone tubing, diaphragm valves, and fittings are universal components in hygienic processes, but their correct specifications vary significantly depending on the industry and the fluid. Understanding the specific requirements of each sector—food, cosmetics, or fine chemicals—is essential for making the right choice. If you need advice for your specific application, please contact our technical team.