Freudenberg-NOK puts the seal on hygiene

By Joseph James Whitworth

- Last updated on GMT

Freudenberg-NOK Hygienic Usit
Freudenberg-NOK Hygienic Usit

Related tags Milk

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies has introduced washers used with standard screws in the splash zones of dairy operations.

They consist of a flat metallic gasket and a trapezoidal, vulcanized-on elastomer bead.

Depending on facility size, hundreds of screw connections can be used in production equipment, stirring devices and containers, and can be potential entry points for impurities and bacteria, said the firm.

So-called dead space can result between screw heads and washers as well as the housing and washers and microorganisms can become established. The gaps function as capillary spaces and draw fluids in.

This reduces the stability of dairy products and can lead to destruction of entire batches. 

Freudenberg-NOK developed the "Hygienic Usit" seal which has an elastomer bead made of material "70 EPDM 291," creating a dead-space-free, static seal.

The material is also resistant to cleaning procedures used in open processes, in which facilities are cleaned from the exterior.

In areas with product contact, such as at screw connections for stirrer blades, the seals are used with special polished screws.

In the splash zones in dairies the Hygienic Usit prevents accelerated corrosion from the metabolism of microorganisms beneath a screw head, for example, for the mounting feet of machinery or frame screws, said Freudenberg-NOK.

It is resistant to water vapor at temperatures up to 180 degrees Celsius, 2% nitric acid and 5% caustic soda at temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius. 

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Content provided by International Dairy Bakery Association | 14-Mar-2023 | Product Presentation

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