EN 12331:2021

Food processing machinery - Mincing machines - Safety and hygiene requirements EN 12331:2021

Publication date:   Nov 17, 2021

Scope

This document specifies requirements for the design and manufacture of mincing machines (see Figure 1).
The mincing machines (hereinafter referred to as machine) covered by this document are used for size reduction of fresh or frozen meat, meat products and fish (hereinafter referred to as product) by cutting in a set of cutting tools.
Household machines are not included in this document. Filling mincers are covered by EN 12463 “Food processing machinery — Filling machines and auxiliary machines — Safety and hygiene requirements”.
This document applies only to machines that are manufactured after the date of issue of this document.
This document covers:
a) professional machines (see Figure 1 a) used for on-demand preparation in shops and/or restaurants characterized by all of the following features (if any of the features is missing the machine is considered an industrial machine):
1) designed as a table-top machine;
2) having a feed tray;
3) the product is only fed manually;
4) is only operated from the ground;
5) is operated by no more than one operator;
6) with full visibility and full accessibility of the entire machine from the operator workstation;
7) having hole plate diameter ≤ 106 mm;
8) a worm casing set which is removable without using any tools;
9) the weight of the worm casing set ≤ 15 kg;
NOTE The table-top machine can be equipped with a frame or base, so no separate table is needed.
b) industrial machines (see Figure 1 b) used for industrial mass production, and which cannot be characterized as a professional machine.
This document does not describe the specific requirements for the control of machines with foot switch.
This document does not describe the specific requirements for additional mixing screws in the feed intake hopper which are covered by EN 13570:2005+A1:2010 “Food processing machinery — Mixing machines — Safety and hygiene requirements”.
Figure 1 - Examples of machines
This document covers the following types of machines:
- machine with feed tray, feed intake and pusher (see Figure 3);
- machine with feed tray, feed intake, restrictor plate and pusher (see Figure 4);
- machine with feed intake hopper, protective cover and feeding screw (see Figure 6);
- machine with feed intake hopper, with or without protective cover, feeding screw, with loading device (continuously or discontinuously).
Machines comprise a machine base, a worm casing with a worm, a feed tray (with feed intake) or a feed intake hopper, a set of cutting tools, a lock nut, a drive motor. They will also have various safeguarding devices as examples in Clause 4.
Machines can be equipped e.g. with:
- an extraction claw;
- an ejector or extractor;
- a protective hood over the discharge outlet;
- a protective cover over the inlet opening of the feed intake hopper;
- a transport carriage for the lock nut, the set of cutting tools, the worm and the feeding screw;
- a lifting device for the lock nut, the set of cutting tools, the worm and the feeding screw;
- a loading device.
The product is fed manually or with a loading device into the machine. The product is fed to the worm either by a pusher or a feeding screw and reduced in size by a set of cutting tools.
This document specifies all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to machines, when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer (see Annex D).
This document specifies the hazards which can arise during commissioning, operation, cleaning, use, maintenance and decommissioning of the machine.

Related legislation

Legislation related to this standard