Our Testing Laboratory is the unique Italian EHEDG Authorised Testing Laboratory for the DOC.2 cleanability test
EHEDG Authorised Testing Laboratory
The Società Italiana per l’Innovazione nell’Industria Alimentare has set up and equipped a test laboratory specialized in cleanability tests.
Our laboratory, unique in Italy, is an “Authorized Testing Laboratory” (ATL) of EHEDG for the execution of the test procedure based on the document EHEDG Doc.2.
The results of this test are used, in addition to other evaluations and evidences, for the purposes of EHEDG certification.
For more information, visit www.ehedg.org.
Principle of the test procedure
The procedure applies to closed equipment of modest size such as, for example but not limited to, valves, pumps, sensors, piping, heat exchangers, homogenizers, connections, housing for filters.
In a nutshell, Tte procedure includes the following phases: soiling, drying, in-place cleaning, detection of residual soil.
The particular microscopic size indicator (bacterial spores) used for soiling and the particular residue detection technique make this method able to highlight internal areas that are difficult to clean and that may need to be redesigned.
In order to identify the residual soil, the tested equipment is filled with an agar medium, and then incubated at a specific temperature, so as to favor the germination of the residual spores. The microbial metabolism will cause, in the areas of presence of residues, a color change, from violet to yellow, of the agarized culture medium, allowing, not only the determination of the degree of cleanability, but also the precise location of the critical areas.
The entire procedure is applied simultaneously to the object being tested and a reference pipe. The result is determined in a comparative way with respect to the reference pipe.
Policy for quality, impartiality and confidentiality
The Laboratory, in compliance with the UNI CEI EN ISO 17025 standard, adopts a quality policy, in which particular emphasis is given to its commitment to impartiality and confidentiality. This policy is available to interested parties for consultation.
Complaints
The Laboratory provides for the stakeholders the possibility of extending a complaint and guarantees that such complaint will be handled according to a specific procedure. This procedure is available to interested parties for consultation.