Abstract

Cleaning of plants as well as hygienic filling are essential processes for ensuring product safety. However, many cleaning processes have been determined empirically and offer enormous potential for saving resources. The use of specific sensors enables a control of the cleaning success and in this way a specific optimization of the processes with regard to the duration, frequency and use of cleaning media. A microbiological validation of sterilization and hygienic filling systems also serves as proof of process efficiency and as a basis for further optimization steps. For this purpose, microbiological challenge tests are carried out using specific test organisms. Resistance-tested bio-indicators are a prerequisite for proving the real efficiency of sterilization processes.