Standards Development

Scope

Scope statement of the proposed new committee (The scope shall precisely define the limits of the field of activity. Scopes shall not repeat general aims and principles governing the work of the organization but shall indicate the specific area concerned).

Standardization of individual machine types and their accessories used in the foodstuffs supply chain, as well as processing systems and complete production lines consisting of these machines.

All these machines process various raw materials and ingredients into intermediate food products and/or ready-to-eat food.

The standards to be created in this TC deal with specific and typical aspects of machines used in the food industry. These aspects include – but are not limited to – health and safety at work for operators (safety of food machinery) and consumer health and safety (food safety). Standards of this TC also focus on hygienic design principles.

Excluded are the fields covered by ISO/TC 23 (Tractors and machinery for agriculture and forestry), ISO/TC 283 (Occupational health and safety management) and ISO/TC 293 (Feed machinery).

Purpose

Purpose:

The purpose of this proposed ISO/TC is to elaborate international standards addressing safety and hygiene aspects for machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs.

Objectives:

The objectives of these standards are the creation of

– a common international level of safety requirements according to occupational health and safety (OHS) and

– comprehensive requirements on the needed hygiene and hygienic design for machinery intended for use with foodstuffs.

Needs and justification:

Feeding a growing world population is an enormous challenge for both primary and food producers. Food is derived from animals or plants, and the continuous satisfaction of the demand for raw materials already represents an enormous task for primary production. Products from agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture are processed as required and are used for food production.

Industrial processing is indispensable to meet society's needs for food in sufficient quantities and of the necessary quality to meet the ever-increasing demands of the growing population. In the long term, this is only possible with the use of machines and their technologies. Machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs is therefore part of a modern food supply system. For these reasons, the number of such machines, as well as the number of food producers is continuously increasing.

In addition to quantity and quality, the increase of shelf life of the food products is also a decisive factor in this system, which can be achieved by hygienic machine processing. The production of food with long shelf lives allows longer transport routes to consumers, from local to global.

Today our food supply system is very complex. However, not in all regions of the world foodstuffs are safe, tasty, nutritious, plentiful, varied, convenient, inexpensive and easily accessible. Scientific and technological advances in machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs must therefore be accelerated. Machines must be used in both developed and developing countries to feed a growing world population. They are therefore producing not only for the local and national, but also for the international market. V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity

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Machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs are becoming increasingly complex, and their system components and processes to be executed are becoming increasingly comprehensive. Even ethnic or religious concerns of the food target groups can play a role in the technical design and construction of the machine. Due to the diversity of the product recipes and processing methods, there is a very wide range of machines designed for the use with foodstuffs. Food producers and machine manufacturers are in close contact with each other and develop tailor-made solutions. Frequently, also food producers themselves develop machines that are individually tailored to their products and processes. In all cases, the aim is the most efficient use of food raw materials and energy to reduce food losses and save resources.

Food producers also demand machines and systems that offer more and more flexibility in order to be able to react quickly to fluctuations in the supply of raw materials or shifts in market requirements. These machines usually must integrate and execute several different process steps. All this has led and in the future will lead to the development of more advanced and at the same time increasingly complex machines.

Despite all efforts, the degree of automation of various processes is not complete, as it depends on many factors due to the individuality of the raw material. Human resources remain indispensable. People still have to operate machines and/or work hand in hand with them. They even have to face new tasks and challenges which may be connected with new hazards.

Machines intended for use with foodstuffs are characterized by additional specific hazards and risks in relation to other machines. Furthermore, complex machines may create new safety and health hazards from which operators have to be protected. The same applies to hygienic design requirements for machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs. A lack in the hygienic design of machinery can be seen as a hazard and may lead to risks for operators.

Benefits:

Standards for food processing machinery efficiently help to implement a commonly accepted safety level which already serves as a basis during the planning and construction phase of the machines. In addition, compliance with hygienic requirements for machines also has a direct influence on the shelf life of food and therefore also consumer safety.

For the food machinery sector there is obviously a lack of international standards describing the requirements for OHS and hygiene of machinery intended for the use with foodstuffs. The development of international standards for foodstuff machines in this proposed new ISO/TC is therefore urgently needed and will facilitate the safety at work in the food industry as well as the food safety for the consumer.

The work of this proposed ISO/TC will be

- of benefit for manufacturers and operators of such machinery and any associated equipment. It will also be of considerable help for occupational health and safety authorities and institutions since the standards will serve as benchmarks for setting common

– globally acknowledged

– safety levels;

- help to ensure that safe food is produced with the machinery concerned. This will help to ensure that food does not cause health risks to consumers and that food losses are minimized.