Hello everyone, welcome to this VELON Hose classroom article. In the fields of food processing, beverage production, and dairy industry, rubber and plastic hoses are widely used. Strictly speaking, these hoses must meet strict food safety regulations to ensure the safety and hygiene of food during transportation. Currently, the market offers a variety of hoses with varying quality, and it is crucial to correctly choose hoses that meet actual requirements. We will share three aspects: the basic concept of food-grade industrial hoses, their characteristics, and common usage scenarios.
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First, let's understand the basic properties and common types of food-grade industrial hoses. Food-grade industrial hoses belong to the category of industrial hoses, so they have the typical characteristics of industrial hoses. They have a standard three-layer structure: the inner layer, reinforcement layer, and outer layer. Food-grade industrial hoses are usually colored or transparent, and almost no customers accept black food-grade industrial hoses. The most critical structural layer of food-grade industrial hoses is the inner layer because it is in direct contact with the material. Based on the requirements of different materials, there are many types of main materials for food-grade industrial hoses. According to the material, food-grade industrial hoses usually choose natural rubber, synthetic rubber, plastic, and other materials. There are several common types of food-grade industrial hoses:
1. NBR Food-Grade Hose: Commonly known as the "versatile hose" in the food industry, it has good oil resistance and alcohol resistance, suitable for the transportation of greasy and non-greasy food materials. Here, we add an important knowledge point about the classification of greasy and non-greasy products.
- Greasy products: Mainly refer to foods with high-fat content, where fat is one of the main components of the product. These products include vegetable oil, animal oil, butter, cream, fat spreads, etc. Greasy products are usually liquid or semi-solid at room temperature and are high-energy-density foods.
- Non-greasy products: Mainly refer to foods with low-fat content or where fat is not the main component of the product. These products include fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, dairy products (such as milk, and yogurt), etc. Non-greasy products usually have a low-fat content.
2. EPDM Food-Grade Hose: It is an economical food-grade hose with good temperature resistance, aging resistance, and acid and alkali resistance, but poor oil resistance. It is not recommended for the transportation of greasy food materials.
3. NR Food-Grade Hose: Often defined as an entry-level food-grade hose, suitable for the transportation of various foods and beverages, with good wear resistance, high elasticity, and flexibility, but its temperature resistance range is small, not oil-resistant, and not recommended for the transportation of greasy food materials.
4. CIIR Food-Grade Hose: Talking about CIIR material, many people may be unfamiliar with it. Here we add an introduction to this material. CIIR, short for Chlorobutyl Rubber, is a special rubber with high air tightness and low permeability, good chemical stability, and is usually recommended for the transportation of wine and other alcoholic products.
5. Silicone Food-Grade Hose: It has excellent high and low temperature resistance, aging resistance, high cleanliness, and good flexibility, often used in occasions with high cleanliness, extreme temperature transportation, and high bending requirements. But the disadvantage is that the price is high, and the inner wall is easy to adsorb color, and the application range in the food industry is relatively small.
6. UPE Food-Grade Hose: This product can be considered a chemical hose product, but we choose food-grade UPE plastic as the inner layer of the hose, which can fully play its wear resistance, easy to clean, and low friction characteristics. UPE food-grade hoses are particularly suitable for the transportation of food-grade fillings and viscous materials. In addition, UPE food-grade hoses are also commonly used in the transportation of drinking water.
7. PVC Food-Grade Hose: PVC has good transparency, corrosion resistance, and performance, lightweight, and cost advantages, but the disadvantage is that the temperature resistance range is small, it becomes hard at low temperatures, and soft at high temperatures. It can usually only transport room-temperature water and beverage drinks.
Next, let's understand the common characteristics of food-grade industrial hoses. In addition to having the basic characteristics of industrial hoses, food-grade industrial hoses also need to have their characteristics.
- Food Safety Materials: Food-grade industrial hoses need to be made of materials that meet food safety standards, such as food-grade silicone, rubber, or plastic. These materials will not pollute food or release harmful substances.
- Temperature Resistance: Food hoses need to be able to withstand various temperatures that may be encountered in the food processing process, from low-temperature transportation to high-temperature disinfection.
- Tasteless and Colorless: Food hoses should not affect the taste, smell, or color of food when transporting food.
- Chemical Resistance: Food hoses should have good chemical resistance, not react with chemicals in food, and also withstand the erosion of disinfectants.
- Hygienic Design: The design of food hoses should facilitate cleaning and disinfection to prevent the breeding of bacteria and other microorganisms. The smoothness of the inner wall of the hose is an important reference indicator.
- Flexibility: Food hoses should have a certain flexibility to facilitate installation and operation in complex filling equipment and pipeline systems.
- Transparency: Some food hoses may be transparent, which helps users monitor the flow of fluids and detect impurities or sediments. Usually, only PVC hoses can achieve this function.
- Certification: Food hoses usually need to pass relevant food safety certifications, which vary by country, such as China's new national standard GB, the FDA in the United States, and the BFR in Germany. We have introduced these standards in food regulations, and we will not elaborate here.
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Here, we will supplement the knowledge of cleaning and disinfection in the food industry. We usually hear customers mention these three names when consulting products, CIP, COP, and SIP, what do they mean? COP, Clean-Out-of-Place: We can translate it as offline cleaning. This cleaning method refers to disassembling equipment or parts and then cleaning them in a dedicated cleaning area. COP is usually used for equipment parts that cannot or are not convenient to clean on-site. After cleaning, the parts need to be reassembled and ensure that the cleaning effect meets hygiene standards.
CIP, Clean-In-Place: We call it online cleaning, CIP is an efficient cleaning method that can be carried out without disassembling the equipment. It uses water, cleaning agents, disinfectants, and steam to clean the internal surfaces of the production line. CIP systems can operate automatically or semi-automatically and are suitable for pipelines, tanks, fermenters, mixing equipment, etc. CIP systems are very common in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries because they can effectively maintain the hygiene of the production line and avoid cross-contamination.
SIP, Sterilize-In-Place: We call it online disinfection, SIP is a cleaning and disinfection procedure used for equipment that requires an aseptic operation. In the SIP process, the equipment is disinfected in place, usually using steam, chemical disinfectants, or hot air. This method is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology fields, as well as in the food industry for those production links with extremely low tolerance for microbial contamination.
Finally, we share common application scenarios for food-grade industrial hoses. Since hoses are widely used in the food and beverage industry, it is impossible to list them all. However, they can be divided into greasy and non-greasy categories to choose the appropriate hose. Next, we share a few common product application cases.
Dairy industry, such as farm milk collection, milk tank truck unloading to the production system, milk filling system, yogurt or ice cream filling, etc.
The seasoning industry involves the transfer of materials between fermentation tanks, the unloading of edible oil tank trucks, the transfer of oily soybean meal, etc.
In the beer and beverage industry, common scenarios, such as the transportation of beer and fruit juice, material filling, material weighing, etc.
Food processing industry, common scenarios such as the transportation of honey, viscous fillings, and the transportation of viscous foods with some particles.
In summary, today we introduced food-grade industrial hoses. We know that food-grade industrial hoses belong to a category of industrial hoses, and in practical applications, you can choose different types of hoses based on working conditions and costs; we shared a few important knowledge points, such as the simple classification of food, the definition of cleaning and disinfection in the food industry. Of course, don't forget the stamped table when selecting products. If there are still questions about food-grade industrial hoses, please feel free to send us an : at .
PVC hose is a type of flexible and plastic hose. While it adopts quality PVC as the material. PVC hoses are ideal for a variety of apps in agriculture, food, beverage, mining and construction.
The primary uses of PVC hose include fluid, gas and chemical transfer from one location to another. Some of the PVC hoses can be a flexible conduit for wires and cables. It’s the best choice for irrigation, suction and discharge of water, air or other liquids, ventilation and drainage. PVC hoses also widely serves in vacuum system, pneumatic tool and spray equipment.
PVC hoses are cheaper than other types of hoses. But it is very competent in most of the usages. Thus PVC hose is an economical choice for many apps.
PVC hoses are lighter in weight than many other types of hoses. Thus it’s easy to use and transfer them.
PVC hoses are highly flexible with a small bend radius. Besides, you can bend, twist and shape it. While there will not be without kink or collapse. Thus the flexible PVC hose is ideal for a wide range of usages.
PVC hoses are highly resistant to corrosion from chemicals and other substances. Thus they are suitable for use in harsh environments.
PVC hoses are non-toxic and safe for use in food and beverage apps. But the PVC material must be food grade. FDA approved will be much better.
PVC hoses are easy to clean and maintain. Thus it’s a good choice for the app where hygiene is important.
PVC hoses are resistant to UV and can work in outdoor without degrading.
PVC hoses have good insulation property. Thus they can work as the protector for wire and cable.
PVC hose is strong and durable. Besides, it can bear a wide range of temps and pressures.
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