3 Ways the FSMA Affects Your Gear Reducer Choices

By Mike Mitchell, Business Development Manager, STOBER Drives, Inc.

Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from the white paper, “Food and Beverage Production: Since FSMA, Stainless Steel Gearboxes are the Best Solution.” Download the full white paper to learn what food and beverage manufacturers can expect from new FSMA short-notice inspections, the real cost of contamination and downtime, and tips for choosing gearboxes that also will help achieve successful inspections.

Food and beverage production regulation in the United States was dramatically changed with the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011. The legislation shifted federal safety standards — from responding to foodborne illness, to preventing it — with safer equipment and more stringent practices.

In the gearing world, excellence in efficiency and durability, combined with sanitation, equals compliance. Under FSMA, food manufacturers are subject to new FDA inspections starting March 2020. Old or outdated gearing solutions can result in violations or worse, spread foodborne illness.

You have many choices when buying or replacing gear reducers. Under new FSMA rules, it’s important for you to select high-quality, durable and efficient products that can help minimize downtime. Here are three factors to think about as you evaluate gearing solutions.

1. Efficiency and Durability

You need durable, high-efficient gear units to help minimize production downtime, produce less heat and reduce maintenance. High-efficient, helical gear reducers in general are the gold standard in the gearing industry because they deliver consistently.

Everything in a gear reducer that contributes to high efficiency contributes to durability and the life of that reducer.

Helical bevel gear reducers are typically a higher investment up front. But worm gears have sliding surfaces and high friction, which create heat. Excessive heat breaks down lubrication and sealing materials, causing brittleness and premature seal wear, which leads to leakage and contamination.

Helical bevel gearing is 95 to 97% efficient. It’s a green energy solution that prevents breakdowns, saves energy by running much cooler than other gear types, and forestalls frequent replacement.

Additionally, some helical bevel gear reducers have long-life product warranties, some as high as three years on an average mean time to failure of 9.1 years. It’s always a good idea to read part specifications before you place your order.

2. Surviving Caustic Washdowns

Severe cleaning procedures can compromise gear reducer coatings, allowing contamination. Initial investment is higher for stainless steel, but they’re required in many “ready to eat” areas. Under FDA Good Manufacturing Practices, equipment must be cleanable to the microbiological level.

Many gear reducers on production lines may not be able to tolerate high-pressure steam washing, and the wide swing of acidic to caustic solutions used by food processing equipment. These severe cleaning procedures can compromise gear reducer box paint, allowing contamination of the gear reducer and product.

While equipment used in food and beverage production must be able to withstand extreme cleaning regimens, no manufacturer wants to expose customers or employees to unhealthy or dangerous situations. Food and beverage products need to be free from the slightest contamination, which can be discovered during FSMA inspections.

Stainless steel is the perfect material for gear reducer housings. Although initial investment may be higher for stainless steel, they’re required in many “ready to eat” areas and other areas where painted surfaces can’t be tolerated. Also, stainless steel eliminates oxidation concerns that can compromise processes.

Also, cast iron conducts more heat than stainless steel. The inefficiency of iron worm gearing combined with a stainless-steel housing, for example, is especially detrimental because hot worm gears increase the potential for worker burns and premature gear reducer failure. High-efficiency helical gearing in stainless steel is a cooler choice for gear reducers.

Food and beverage producers of all sizes must adhere to sanitary designs in the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices for all foods except meat, poultry and eggs. The bottom line: equipment must be cleanable to the microbiological level. Stainless steel gear reducers capable of enduring harsh washdown meet the most stringent sanitation rules.

3. Maintaining Compliance

IP69K certified gearing tolerates extreme washdown or dust conditions.

Typically, the best washdown gear reducers for the food industry are high-efficient, IP69K, stainless steel gear reducers. This industry needs high-efficient, stainless steel gear reducers correctly sized and safe for use in mixing, cutting, screw conveying, processing and pumping for food-related segments of fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy, baking and snack foods.

The best gear reducers for beverage markets typically are high-efficiency, stainless steel pigmented epoxy coated or stainless steel with IP69K certification. These markets need gear reducers for high-efficiency material handling, wet and dry conveying, pasteurization, bottling, pumping, filling, capping, labeling, and case packing.

IP69K certification is the highest certification for cleaning endurance and is widely adopted in the food and beverage industry. It’s an extensive certification against worst-case washdown pressure. It’s also the highest degree of protection available for an electromechanical product against dust (IP6_) and water, even with high-pressure or steam cleaning (IP9K).

IP69K certification for gearing products provides tolerance against extreme dust, contaminants, and high-pressure washing and/or steam cleaning, and withstands caustic solutions used for the most severe washdown applications. Poultry, pork and beef processing, especially ready-to-eat areas, benefit from IP69K certified processes. So do canned and frozen food processing.

Finally, look for gearing rated as USDA Accepted Equipment. This means your gear reducers will minimize contamination risk and improve compliance.

STOBER Drives, Inc., Maysville, Kentucky, is a participating Encompass^TM Product Partner in the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork^TM program. The company supplies precision in-line gear reducers, right-angle and hollow-output reducers, modular gearboxes and washdown units.

^{The Journal From Rockwell Automation and Our PartnerNetwork™ is published by Putman Media, Inc.}