The right cable glands in the food industry

The highest quality and hygiene standards

The highest hygiene standards apply in the food and beverage industry. Contact of pathogens and contaminants with the products must be avoided at all times. Therefore, it is essential that electrical components such as connectors and cable glands also meet the highest quality requirements. Rob van der Sluis, head of Product Portfolio Management at LAPP, specializing in cable and connector technology discusses a number of important points of interest.

"In many industrial environments, you look at what a cable has to withstand to protect the electrical components. Cable glands are an important part of this. They provide strain relief for the cables and provide a reliable seal, while also having to be able to move somewhat with the cable. In the food sector, it is also essential that the cable and cable gland itself have no negative impact on the environment. No particles may be released during degradation that could end up in the production environment," Van der Sluis explains.

Chemical, thermal and mechanical loads

When cleaned with aggressive cleaning agents, cables must not only be and remain watertight, they must also not show any wear. The same goes for thermal and mechanical loads. "In production environments, you have to deal with a lot of moving parts and vibrations, while there may be very high or low temperatures or temperature fluctuations. If you want to guarantee food safety, the components will have to be resistant to aggressive detergents, bio-oils, fats, fruit and lactic acids, temperature fluctuations and water, as well as being stainless." 

Zones

In food and beverage production, you can distinguish three zones. Depending on the zone, external influences vary in terms of mechanics or temperature. "LAPP offers the right cables and connection solutions for machines and plants for all zones - Hygienic Design zone, splash zone and non-product zone - with the right certifications." 

Misunderstanding around stainless steel

"A big misunderstanding I still sometimes encounter in practice is that people assume that if a component looks like stainless steel, it is automatically suitable for the food industry," Van der Sluis says. "Unfortunately, that is not the case. Proper certifications are needed to ensure food safety." He gives an example from LAPP's product range. "Our SKINTOP Hygienic cable glands are specially designed with smooth surfaces and contours without corners and edges. This prevents residues such as liquids and microorganisms from accumulating and posing a contamination risk to food processing machinery."

Certifications

The SKINTOP Hygienic cable glands - in the recognizable color blue to easily distinguish between cables and foodstuffs - has multiple food & beverage certifications for both Europe and North America. Thus, it has optimal sealing with protection class IP68 (10 bar) and IP69. The aff seal material conforms to FDA 21 CFR 177.2600, specifically for the food and beverage industry in North America. The gland is certified according to NSF/ANSI 169 for use in hygienic areas in North America and certified according to EHEDG for use in hygienically critical areas in Europe, observing the principles of hygienic design (Directive "Design Criteria for Hygienic Machines, Appliances and Components"). Finally, the gland has verified resistance to Ecolab disinfectants and cleaning agents. "Thanks to these certifications, the SKINTOP Hygienic gland can be used without problems in hygienically critical areas of the food industry."

Engineering platforms

The SKINTOP Hygienic gland is not the only product in LAPP's range for the food industry. "We have an extensive product range for the food sector, from glands, Ethernet cables, control power cables and low-frequency data cables to temperature sensors. Whoever has questions about our products, we are happy to assist with advice. We also offer our component data on engineering platforms such as EPLAN, Cadenas or Zuken. The article data comply with the data standards of these platforms, so engineers can rely on the completeness of the data. They can immediately use the products' certificate and material information in their design, increasing their efficiency and simplifying product selection."