The conference, which has been held every four years since 1994, will this year take place in Lille (Switzerland) from March 28th to 30th.
The formation of unwanted layers of fouling deposits on the surface of process equipment and their removal, as well as the attachment and inactivation of associated microbiological species, is of critical importance in the food industry. Fouling is prevalent in heat transfer devices, evaporators, membranes and distribution lines. Hygienic design, operation, maintenance, monitoring and assurance is a multi-disciplinary field lying at the interface between life sciences, physical sciences and engineering.
As part of the conference, the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV will present a system for automated monitoring of local dirt removal during cleaning in closed food processing lines using a quartz crystal sensor.