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STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
Contents
Stainless Steel in the Food & Beverage Industry 1 General scope and objectives 2
First Edition 2006 2 Background 2
(Materials and Applications Series, Volume 7) 3 Why stainless steel 2
© Euro Inox 2006 4 Which stainless steel 5
5 How to fabricate stainless steel 9
6 Surface finish 14
7 Design principles 17
8 Conclusion 20
9 European standards 21
10 References 22
Publisher 11 Where to go for help 23
Euro Inox 12 Appendix 23
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Acknowledgements
Author Produced with kind support from the Nickel Institute,
Eric Partington, Fairford (UK) Toronto (www.nickelinstitute.org, www.hygienicstain-
less.org)
Copyright notice Cover Photographs:
This work is subject to copyright. Euro Inox reserves • Centro Inox, Milan (I)
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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record- Euro Inox has made every effort to ensure that the
ing or otherwise, without the prior written permission information presented in this document is technically
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contained in this publication.
1
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
This brochure offers an overview of the ver- stainless steels and the importance of both
satility of stainless steel as the material of a smooth surface finish and correct, hygien-
choice in the European (and, indeed, glob- ic design. However, it cannot encompass
al) Food and Beverage Industries. It every aspect of the selection and applica-
describes the characteristics of the five tion of stainless steels and so it includes
main groups of stainless steel and indicates helpful references to direct the reader to
appropriate applications for each. It dis- sources of specialist advice.
cusses the techniques for manipulating
2 Background
There is a wide range of stainless steels, the most appropriate stainless steel,
each of which offers its own unique portfo- preparing it correctly and maintaining it
lio of corrosion resistance, mechanical well can ensure long, trouble-free service at
strength, formability and weldability. Using minimum life-cycle cost.
2
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
3
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
from them plant which can process foods assessed and appropriate action taken.
effectively and economically and to design Of course, as with any material, the selec-
with them equipment which can easily be tion of the most appropriate grade of stain-
cleaned and maintained, often without the less steel and the optimum surface finish
need for dismantling (Cleaning in Place). for the intended conditions of use, together
They are strong. They can be formed into with the application of good design, fabri-
the necessary shapes for food processing, cation and maintenance practices is essen-
transportation and storage, and they are tial, and these are discussed later in this
readily welded (see section 5 below). They brochure.
resist impact, fatigue, wear, abrasion and
erosion well. The reliability and longevity of stainless
steels also contribute significantly to their
Furthermore, HACCP (Hazard And Critical favourable Life-Cycle Costs. But even when
Control Point) analysis requires that the a piece of stainless steel equipment has
operators of any commercial process, reached the end of its useful life, the stain-
including food processing and packaging, less steel itself hasn't. Today, a newly-man-
should actively look for potential threats to ufactured stainless steel object will have an
health, safety and hygiene. A 'threat' is average recycled content of about 60%1.
defined as anything from infection resulting
from poor design or lack of hygiene, And a feature particularly important when
through the degradation of materials by presenting food either in the retail outlet or
erosion or corrosion, to component failure in the domestic environment is that stain-
by fracture or fatigue. HACCP systems must less steels are pleasing in appearance.
now consider the possibility of materials
contaminating the foods with which they The popularity of stainless steels in the
are in contact. In any state of the EU, com- food industry is due to a combination of
petent national authorities' inspectors can practicality and aesthetics.
demand to see HACCP analyses to deter-
mine if all possible risks really have been
4 1
ISSF figure. See also CD-ROM The Recycling of Stainless Steel Luxembourg: Euro Inox 2004
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
Just as 'steel' is iron which contains a con- Inox publishes tables of the properties of a
trolled amount of carbon, so 'stainless steel' wide range of stainless steels in coil, sheet
is a steel which contains a controlled amount or plate form [5].
of chromium. However, 'stainless steel' is
not a single material but a family of over 200 The 'simplest' stainless steels are the iron-
iron-carbon-chromium alloys. Stainless carbon-chromium alloys and these fall into
steels are steels which contain a maximum two groups.
of 1.2% carbon and a minimum of 10.5% The blade of this knife is
chromium. Of course, this does not mean The first group is the 'martensitic' stainless made of martensitic
stainless steel 1.4116.
that every grade of steel with more than steels. These contain only about 13%
Photo: Wüsthof
10.5% chromium will resist staining in every chromium (and so they are the least expen-
operating environment. If the operating con- sive stainless steels) but they have high lev-
ditions are particularly aggressive some els of carbon (even up to 1%). Whilst the
grades of stainless steel may suffer corro- high level of carbon in the martensitic stain-
sion and so a grade which has more chromi- less steels makes them difficult to form and
um, or which has additions of other ele- weld, it also makes them very hard and
ments such as nickel, molybdenum, nitro- strong, and heat treatment can make them
gen and copper, may be required because of even harder. These stainless steels (some-
its greater resistance to a particular environ- times referred to just as 'martensitics') are
ment or to a particular type of corrosion. ideal where the environment is not particu-
Some additions may make the stainless larly aggressive, but resistance to wear is
steel more easily formed or machined or important. Grade 1.4125 (AISI 440C) con-
welded, which will make the fabrication of tains 1% carbon and is extremely hard and
equipment easier, or they make the material so it is used for the wearing parts of pumps.
tougher so that it is more durable. However, Grade 1.4021 (AISI 420) contains a mini-
in doing so, they may reduce another prop- mum of 0.15% carbon and is ideal for knife
erty such as corrosion resistance and they blades. Grade 1.4116 contains a minimum
may also add to the cost of the material. It is of 0.45% carbon and is used for superior
therefore important to define the environ- kitchen knives which will retain their sharp-
ment in which an item of stainless steel ness even after prolonged use.
equipment is to operate, to appreciate the
fabrication processes which will be involved
in its construction and to understand the
effects which each alloying element will have
on the material's properties. This will help
to select a grade of stainless steel which is
suitable, but not over-specified, for that par-
ticular application. Reference [4] offers an
introduction to the metallurgy and the corro-
sion resistance of stainless steels and Euro
5
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
6
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
7
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
The super-austenitic steels are tolerant of cal strength, in part due to an addition of
extremely aggressive conditions. During about 0.15% of nitrogen. They also have a
the production of soy sauce, for instance, much better resistance to stress corrosion
the ingredients ferment in tanks for about cracking than austenitic stainless steels
six months, during which they produce a (although not quite as good a resistance as
sauce rich in organic acids, amino acids and the ferritic grades) and a resistance to
alcohols and with a pH of about 4.7 and a crevice and pitting corrosion superior to the
sodium chloride content of around 17%. 1.4401 (AISI 316) austenitics.
High levels of chromium, nickel, molybde-
One solution to the age-
old problem of the corro- num and nitrogen and a low carbon content Although the costs of the material content
sion of soy fermentation confer to austenitic stainless steels superi- and manufacture of the third group of iron-
vessels is to make new or corrosion resistance in a wide array of carbon-chromium-nickel stainless steels
plant out of a super
aggressive environments. Typical examples are high, the 'precipitation-hardening'
austenitic stainless steel
(in the case of these are grade 1.4539 (904L), which has a molyb- stainless steels combine the good corrosion
tanks a proprietary denum content of over 4%, and grades resistance of the austenitic grades with the
grade with 23% chromi- 1.4547 (254 SMO) and 1.4529, both of which excellent mechanical properties of the
um, 25% nickel and
contain more than 6% molybdenum. martensitic steels. A steel such as grade
5.5% molybdenum).
Photo: Nippon Yakin 1.4542 (AISI 630) has additions of copper
Kogyo Co. Ltd. In very corrosive environments such as (which improves its resistance to reducing
mustard and vinegar-making, cheese acids) and niobium (to help to reduce corro-
dairies or fish-canning plants, it may be sion at welds).
necessary to use one of the second group of
iron-carbon-chromium-nickel stainless
steels — the 'duplex' steels. These have
very high levels of chromium — 22% in
grade 1.4462 (2205) and 23% in grade
1.4362 (2304) — and, in the case of 1.4462,
about 3% molybdenum. Most duplex steels
are also more expensive than the
austenitics. They have a resistance to gen-
eral corrosion similar to the austenitic
stainless steels but much higher mechani-
This heat-exchanger is
made from a duplex
stainless steel and is
used in the cooking of
tomato, barbecue and
soy sauces.
Photo: Dimpleflo
8
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
2
Detailed recommendations can be found in The Mechanical Finishing of Decorative Stainless Steel Surfaces (Materials and 9
Applications Series, Volume 6), Luxembourg: Euro Inox, 2005
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
Embedded particles can be removed by pick- The process of welding two stainless steel
ling the surface with an acid, as described components together will affect the mechan-
below, but prevention is always better than ical properties and the corrosion resistance
cure3. Wire brushes should be therefore of both the joint itself and the area immedi-
made from stainless, not carbon, steel. ately adjacent to the weld, but there has
Layout or cutting tables which are made from been extensive publication of advice on the
carbon steel should be covered with card- welding of stainless steels [6, 7, 8].
board or plastic sheets to prevent contact
between the two materials. Carbon steel Essential for all welding is the good house-
slings and hooks, and the forks of lift-trucks, keeping described above and consideration
should have wooden or plastic guards. of the following phenomena, all of which,
with the correct techniques and proce-
Stainless steels can be cut by cropping or dures4, can be controlled:
with a cutting disc, by plasma jet or water
jet. They cannot be cut by the normal oxy- • During the welding process itself, the
acetylene or oxy-propane methods used for molten metal must be shielded from
carbon steels, although a variation on oxy- atmospheric oxidation by means of a gas or
propane cutting, introducing iron powder a slag or a vacuum in order to achieve and
into the flame, can be highly effective and preserve the optimum corrosion resistance
can cut sections up to 200 mm thick. and mechanical properties in the joint.
10 3
Pickling and Passivating Stainless Steel (Materials and Applications Series, Volume 4), Luxembourg: Euro Inox, 2004
4
Welding stainless steels (Materials and Applications Series, Volume 3), Luxembourg: Euro Inox, 2001
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
• During welding, chromium and carbon in Martensitic stainless steels are weldable
the stainless steel can form chromium but will form a hardened zone adjacent to
carbide particles, a process known as the weld, the hardness of which will depend
sensitisation. This reduces the chromi- upon the carbon content of the steel.
um available to combine with oxygen and However, this can be controlled by appro-
so form the chromium oxide passive layer priate welding procedures. Martensitics
which gives stainless steel its corrosion have relatively low thermal conductivities,
resistance. which can give rise to very steep tempera-
ture gradients and stresses high enough to
• The weld metal itself may suffer from micro- cause cracking. Pre-heating and post-weld
fissuring — the development of tiny cracks. heat treatment may be required to prevent
such cracking.
• The temperature gradient across the weld
can give rise to distortion of the compo- Ferritic stainless steels tend to suffer from
nent, and during cooling high stresses sensitisation. Grades of ferritic steels
can be set up in the weld and HAZ. which are 'stabilised' by the addition of tita-
nium and/or niobium, however, suffer less
from this as those elements both combine
with carbon even more readily than chromi-
um, forming titanium or niobium carbides
and leaving the chromium available to form
the passive layer. Heat treatment after
welding may also be necessary if a ferritic
steel is not to suffer from brittleness at
room temperatures.
11
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
12
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
5
AWS: American Welding Society 13
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
6 Surface finish
14 6
EHEDG: European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
15
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
The efficiency with which any cleaning ed concentrations and temperature and
process can remove accumulated contami- within the normal time. EHEDG document
nation is also strongly influenced by the No. 17 [14], for instance, advises that: "high-
way it is performed. Cleaning depends er liquid velocities may allow surfaces with
upon the combined effects of chemical a roughness above Ra = 0.8 µm to clean
action, mechanical action, temperature and acceptably up to a roughness of Ra = 3.2
time, and so if the velocity with which a µm".
detergent passes across a surface is
increased, this may allow its concentration Whatever the technique employed to pre-
or its temperature or its contact time to be pare a surface or the procedure used to
reduced. Alternatively, if a rough surface clean it after use, it is important to confirm
cannot be made smoother, perhaps the surface's cleanability under service con-
because of its inaccessibility, then increas- ditions.
ing the velocity of the detergent may mean
that it can still be effectively cleaned with
proprietary chemicals at their recommend-
16
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
7 Design principles
The demands upon the design of equip- The red arrows show
areas where process
ment intended for the processing or storage
soils and cleaning
of foods and beverages are stringent. The agents can be trapped.
EC Machinery Directive 98/37/EC: 1998 [15] The use of a bolt with a
states that machinery "must be so designed domed head and a
metal-backed elastomer
and constructed as to avoid any risk of
gasket under it elimi-
infection, sickness or contagion". EN 1672- nates the crevices.
2: 2005 [16] demands that it is "capable of
being properly operated, cleaned and main-
tained". Extensive advice on how to meet sion inside the crevice. Furthermore,
these requirements is available to the because the conditions inside a crevice are
designer and specifier from the European quite different from those on an open sur-
Hygienic Engineering & Design Group, a face, an effect known as crevice corrosion
consortium of equipment manufacturers, will accelerate the corrosion process. On an
food industries, research institutes and open stainless steel surface accessible to
public health authorities founded in 1989 to The red arrow shows the
promote hygiene during the processing and crevice left where the
two flanges meet.
handling of food products.
Correct seal design elim-
inates this.
Many of the features of a design which
make it 'hygienic' are the same as those
which will help to reduce corrosion, and so
the inherent corrosion resistance of a mate-
rial like stainless steel is reinforced by
hygienic design. It should be noted that oxygen, damage caused by, for instance,
'hygienic' does not necessarily mean 'bac- chlorides will generally be quickly repaired,
teria-tight'; hygienic design and construc- but inside a crevice where oxygen is not
tion will render the equipment non-contam- easily replaced once it has been used up by
inating and cleanable, but cannot not guar- the healing process, the chlorides will
antee sterility. attack the material rapidly.
17
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
A step can trap foods, when the joint is correctly clamped together
particularly if they are
and the equipment is at the normal operat-
flowing from the lower
plate towards the upper
ing temperature, the seal is just level with
one (ie: right to left). A the bores of the two sections of pipe-work.
butt joint is more
hygienic.
A lap joint at a weld will create a step
between two surfaces. This can retain food
which will remain there and deteriorate
The more smoothly the food product can until it is removed by the cleaning process-
flow through the equipment, the less dan- es. A butt joint, ground smooth after weld-
ger there is of it being trapped in a 'dead ing, is far superior both because it will not
area' which can be difficult to clean. A dead allow the accumulation of process soils and
area can be created if a synthetic seal at a because its smoother surface is easier to
joint protrudes into the flow of the product. clean. It must, of course, be continuous
This may happen when the two faces of the along the length of the joint. Non-metallic
The positioning of welds fillers are not a satisfactory alternative to a
is critical to hygiene. continuous weld as they can, in time, devel-
op cracks or separate away from the metal,
revealing a narrow crevice which will be
very difficult to keep clean.
18
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
the corners, the easier they are to clean. Tanks and other vessels
must be self-draining.
EHEDG Document 10 [17] recommends that
corners of closed equipment (where access
for cleaning can be very difficult) have a
minimum radius of 3 mm.
19
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
8 Conclusion
Apart from their pleasing appearance, obsolete, the material is recyclable. The
stainless steels have many other attributes correct grade of steel for an application,
essential to the hygienic preparation of designed into equipment with hygiene in
foods and beverages. They are inert in most mind and prepared with care will offer many
foods, they are easily fabricated, they are years of reliable service and so represent an
durable and, when components become excellent investment.
20
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
9 European standards
21
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
10 References
[1] European Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27 October 2004 on Materials and Articles Intended to come into Contact
with Food and repealing Directives 80/590/EEC and 89/109/EEC. Official Journal of
the European Communities L 338, 13/11/2004, 4-14 2004.
[2] Decreto ministeriale 21 marzo 1973: Disciplina igienica degli imballaggi, recipienti,
utensili, destinati a venire in contatto con le sostanze alimentare o con sostanze
d’uso personale. Supplemento ordinario alla “Gazzetta ufficiale” della Repubblica
Italiana n. 104 del 20 aprile 1973 [Regulations on the hygiene of packaging, recepta-
cles and tools intended to come into contact with substances for food use or with sub-
stances for personal use. Ministerial Decree 21 March 1973. Official Gazette of the
Italian Republic no. 104 of 20 April 1973]; in Italian only.
[3] FAILLE, C., MEMBRE, J. M., TISSIER, J. P., BELLON-FONTAINE, M. N., CARPENTIER, B.,
LAROCHE, M. A. and BENEZECH, T., “Influence of physiochemical properties on the
hygienic status of stainless steel with various finishes”, Biofouling 15, 261-274, 2000.
[4] TUTHILL, A. H. and COVERT, R. A., Stainless steels: an introduction to their metallurgy
and corrosion resistance (Nickel Institute publication 14 056), Toronto 2000†.
[5] Stainless Steel: Tables of Technical Properties (Materials and Applications Series,
Volume 5), Luxembourg: Euro Inox 2005*.
[6] Welding of stainless steels and other joining methods (A Designer's Handbook Series
No. 9 002), AISI, Washington, D.C. 1979†.
[7] Guidelines for the welded fabrication of nickel-containing stainless steels for corrosion
resistant services (NiDI Reference Book Series No. 11 007) Toronto: Nickel Institute 1992†.
[8] Welding stainless steel to meet hygienic requirements (Guideline Document 9),
Brussels: EHEDG 1993Ø.
[9] Specification for welding of austenitic stainless steel tube and pipe systems in sani-
tary (hygienic) applications (AWS D18.1), Miami: American Welding Society 1999.
[10] TUTHILL, A. H., Fabrication and post-fabrication cleanup of stainless steels (NiDI
Technical Series No. 10 004), Toronto 1986†.
[11] TUTHILL, A. H., AVERY, R. E., and COVERT, R. A., Cleaning stainless steel surfaces prior
to sanitary service (NiDI Technical Series No. 10 080), Toronto 1997†.
[12] Geometrical product specifications – surface texture: profile method – terms, defini-
tions and surface texture parameters (ISO 4287), 1997.
[13] Hygienic equipment design criteria (Guideline Document No. 8), Brussels: EHEDG 2004Ø.
[14] Hygienic design of pumps, homogenisers and dampening devices (Guideline
Document No. 17), Brussels: EHEDG 1998Ø.
[15] The Machinery Directive: European Community Directive 98/37/EC (1998), relating to
Machinery (Official Journal of the European Communities L 207, 1–46) 1988.
[16] EN 1672-2: 2005 Food Processing Machinery. Basic Concepts. Part 2: Hygiene requi-
rements 2005.
[17] Hygienic design of closed equipment for the processing of liquid food (Guideline
Document No. 10), Brussels: EHEDG 2004Ø.
[18] Hygienic design of equipment for open processing (Guideline Document No. 13),
Brussels: EHEDG 2004Ø.
22 *
Ø
also available online at www.euro-inox.org
also available online at www.ehedg.org
†
also available online at www.nickelinstitute.org
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
EHEDG www.ehedg.org
Euro Inox www.euro-inox.org
Nickel Institute www.nickelinstitute.org; www.hygienicstainless.org
12 Appendix
Group EN AISI
Martensitic 1.4021 420
1.4116
1.4125 440C
Ferritic 1.4016 430
1.4509 441
1.4510 439
1.4521 444
Austenitic 1.4301 304
1.4307 304L
1.4401 316
1.4404 316L
1.4541 321
Super-austenitic 1.4539 904L
1.4547
1.4529
Precipitation-hardening 1.4542 630
Duplex 1.4462
1.4362
23
STAINLESS STEEL IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
24
ISBN 2-87997-142-x
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