What Is EHEDG?

EHEDG, the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group, is a non-profit consortium that sets out how food processing equipment should be designed so it can be cleaned completely. It was founded in 1989 and brings together equipment makers, food producers, research institutes and public health bodies, with members and regional sections well beyond Europe.

Its work has two parts. It publishes guideline documents on hygienic engineering and design, which are the main European reference for the subject. It also runs a certification scheme in which a specific equipment design is tested for cleanability at an authorized test institute and, if it passes, may carry the EHEDG certification logo.

EHEDG guidelines are voluntary. The legal requirement in Europe comes from the Machinery Directive, which the EU Machinery Regulation replaces from 2027. Its hygiene requirements for food machinery are detailed in EN 1672-2 and EN ISO 14159. EHEDG guidance shows designers how to meet those requirements in practice.

The guidelines deal with materials, surface finish, geometry, drainability, seals, fasteners, welding, installation and testing. The core document, Doc. 8 on hygienic design principles, sets out the criteria that later documents apply to specific equipment such as valves, pumps, conveyors, sensors and open processing machinery.

Most guidance was written for product-contact equipment, but the same principles are applied to everything in the splash zone. The key ones are:

Certification applies to a specific equipment design, not to a manufacturer or a factory. The maker submits the design and documentation, and an authorized test officer assesses it against the guidelines. Equipment that is cleaned in place is tested by soiling it with a standard contaminant and running a defined cleaning cycle, then checking for any remaining soil, using a method published in an EHEDG guideline. Open equipment is assessed against the open-processing guidance.

Certificates distinguish equipment that is cleaned in place without dismantling, equipment cleaned after being taken apart, dry-cleaned equipment and aseptic equipment. Always check that the certificate covers the exact model and configuration being bought, because changing a seal material or a fitting can take a design outside it.

EHEDG also trains engineers and auditors through courses and regional sections, and its guidance is used in factory hygiene audits even where no certified equipment is installed. Many food manufacturers write EHEDG design principles into their own equipment specifications, so suppliers meet them whether or not they hold a certificate.

Three organizations publish most of the world’s hygienic design references. Equipment for export is often designed to satisfy more than one.

Our guide to 3-A Sanitary Standards covers the US system in more detail.

HMIs, scales and displays on a food line are rarely EHEDG certified themselves, because the scheme is aimed at process equipment. They still sit in the splash zone and are cleaned with the line, so specifiers ask for the same design features. For an HMI or display, that means a flush, flat front with no exposed bezel gaps, a stainless steel housing, fanless cooling with no vents, sealed M12 connectors and an IP69K rating for high-pressure washdown.

Our guide to hygienic design for washdown computers covers each feature in detail. Our IP69K panel PCs and stainless steel monitors are built for washdown areas. Lines cleaned internally also rely on clean in place systems, which EHEDG guidance covers too.

We supply stainless steel, IP69K panel PCs and monitors for food plants with the connectors and mounting matched to the cleaning regime, and integrate and test each system before it ships. Tell us how the area is cleaned and which standards your customer works to, and we will recommend the system to suit.