Food-safe stainless steel fans
Different countries have different laws that food machinery must comply with. Complying with these legal requirements is of course mandatory, and good knowledge of the relevant legislation is essential. Consider here:
- In the Netherlands: availability and compliance of an HACCP system by the NVWA;
- In de EU: “Good Manufacturing Practice” van de EC2023/2006;
- For in the US: inspection and approval from USDA / FDA approved.
In addition, different countries regularly apply their own rules on top of international legislation. For example, did you know that in France, stainless steel for use in the food industry must contain a minimum of 13% chromium? Avoiding such surprises is something we are happy to help with!
Fans with Declaration of Agreement (CoA) or Declaration of Compliance (DoC)
Naaykens’ supplies these fans with complete documentation. This includes a Declaration of Agreement, ensuring the legally required traceability of materials.
An example of a stainless steel impeller with fully welded and glass-beaded welds, fully pickled.
Extra attention to finishing
Food industry machinery absolutely must not have rough or sharp edges where biological material or moisture can accumulate, or where someone can hurt or open themselves. This is why we build our fans with this in mind:
- Stainless steel 304, 316 or duplex is exclusively used as the material;
- All sharp edges are broken;
- The seams are fully welded;
- The fans are fully glass beaded, stained or treated with Viwateq, depending on application and your requirements;
- Pickling and passivation remove the heat traces of welding, after which the self-protective oxide layer is restored.
Fans with ViwateQ finishing
We can also supply our fans with a ViwateQ treatment for a very smooth finish. This revolutionary new surface treatment is a great way to get stainless steel parts to a very smooth finish, where a roughness of Ra < 0.5 µm is achievable.
Stainless steel fan for extraction of production process baby food
We also supplied two large industrial fans for a customer in the food industry. These fans are used during various steps during the drying of milk powder, with a number of factors at play in the process that we, as specialists, were happy to help with. Namely, these fans had to meet the following requirements:
- Able to deliver high pressure with a high flow rate;
- Food grade and FDA approved for an end customer in the Philippines;
- Internal zone ATEX 21 with Cleaning-in-Place capability.
As this customer produces food products for baby food, we used our experience here to make sure all components are food grade and it no contamination can occur in the process.
The first fan is used to supply clean air. The second fan is used as extraction where hot dust particles from dried milk powder may be entrained. This creates the possibility of a dust explosion, and internally the fan must comply with ATEX guidelines for zone 21. In addition, a spray ball is installed for automatic cleaning of this fan.
| Reference | Order 80498-050 | Order 80498-060 |
| Type | Series 5500 4014/3900 6L | Series 5500 4900/47375 2L |
| Flow rate m3/h | 34.000 | 62.500 |
| Expected temperature gases (°C) | 65 | 95 |
| Static pressure (Pa) | 6900 at 65° C | 5500 at 95° C |
| Speed (o/min) | 2200, frequency-controlled | 1750, frequency-controlled |
| Motor power, absorbed ( kW) | 77.6 | 104 |
| Motor power, maximum (kW) | 90 | 132 |
| Maximum temperature (°C) | 150 | 150 |
| Materials | Fan, motor and frame: RVS 304 Impeller: Duplex |
Fan, motor and frame: RVS 304 Impeller: Duplex |
| Specifications | Sealed drive shaft with cooling fan Flexible coupling Insulated bearing motor |
As 80498-050, also: Internally ATEX zone 21 CIP via spray balls |
Impression of supplied fans
Below is an impression of the installed fans from the above order. The first photo is of the ATEX fan, where a connection for CIP spray bulb can be seen on the top left side of the fan next to the inspection hatch. In the second and third photo of the fan type 4014/3900 6L, you can clearly see the protruding pipes for easy lubrication of the bearings without removing the protective cover.
There are also photos of intermediate inspection of the drive shaft with flexible coupling. Also clearly visible there is the cooling impeller, which reduces heat transfer from the hot impeller through the shaft to the bearings and prolongs bearing life.
Are you looking for a fan for your production process in the food industry? We are happy to take a look and can offer you tailor-made, no-obligation advice.
Cleaning-in-place (CIP) fan - self-cleaning fan
CIP cleaning is regularly used in the food industry. These are designed so that they can periodically and fully automatically clean the entire system using a cleaning fluid. Not only is manual cleaning a labour-intensive job, but by including it in the design of the machine, every cleaning is also guaranteed to be of the same quality.
A well-designed CIP system is used for:
- Removing allergenic substances;
- Removing (caked on) grease residues, from, for example, baking processes;
- Disinfecting ducts and machinery.
Advantages of automatic cleaning with spray balls
A well-designed self-cleaning system has a number of significant advantages over manual cleaning.
- Long-term cleaning cycles possible without high labour costs;
- Use more aggressive chemical cleaners possible;
- Use of high-temperature water for better cleaning.
More information on how these spray balls work can be found on our supplier Alfa Laval’s page. We mainly use rotary spray balls because of the better cleaning and lower Cost of Ownership due to lower consumption of detergent.
Below is an impression of another fan with a Cleaning-In-Place system.
Fan with mounted spray balls.
Second practical example: Stainless steel booster fan for dairy industry
For another very well-known player in the food industry, we supplied a fan to increase the pressure in their process air. Because this fan is used in a less critical part of the production process, the requirements are a lot lower than in the previous example.
Here too, only the parts in contact with the process flow are made of stainless steel 304.
In the photos below, you can see an impression of an interim check we carry out for the above order. During production for fans that come into contact with biological substances, we always check our work extra critically.
| Reference | Order 84465 |
| Type | Series 51 – Type B300 |
| Flow rate m3/h | 24.000 |
| Static pressure at 30° C (Pa) | 2.100 |
| Speed (o/min) | 1750, frequency controlled |
| Motor power, absorbed (kW) | 18.6 |
| Motor power, maximum (kW) | 22 |
| Materials | Parts in contact with medium: stainless steel 304 Other parts: stainless steel 304 |
We will gladly think with you, about the most suitable solution for you!