Air flow in food manufacturing company
Hi there, happy weekend, currently we are renovating our plant to get FSSC 22000 certificate. My question is we plan to fix exhaust fan at our plant, but it will create negative pressure or vacuum in production section, so should be allowable to use suction fan which brings in air from outside environment? If yes should there be any filter needed for this and need air monitoring for this air suction fan?
You will need filtration ob your intakes such as hepa/micron mesh filters and institute an air quality environmental program. Remember to put the filters on your MCS and PM programs.
The organization shall establish requirements for filtration, humidity (RH%) and microbiology of air used as an ingredient or for direct product contact.
Where temperature and/or humidity are deemed critical by the organization, a control system shall be put in place and monitored.
Ventilation (natural or mechanical) shall be provided to remove excess or unwanted steam, dust and odours, and to facilitate drying after wet cleaning.
Room air supply quality shall be controlled to minimize risk from airborne microbiological contamination.
Protocols for air quality monitoring and control shall be established in areas where products which support the growth or survival of microorganisms are exposed.
Ventilation systems shall be designed and constructed such that air does not flow from contaminated or raw areas to clean areas.
Specified air pressure differentials shall be maintained. Systems shall be accessible for cleaning, filter changing and maintenance.
Exterior air intake ports shall be examined periodically for physical integrity.
thanks alot Tony-C and SQF consultant
Just to reiterate the pressure -
Where there is a risk of microbial contamination of the product by the surrounding air, the working area should be enclosed as far as possible and
be maintained at a positive pressure using filtered air drawn from a clean source. The type of filters will depend on the product and process and range
from dust exclusion filters to high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Filtering should comply with minimally G5 but in some cases EU-class F7
or F8 (see filter standards) or an equivalent thereof. For high-risk areas air supply is critical.
The pressure differential between low and high risk should approach 5 Pa (>0.02 inch of water column). The desired pressure differential will
be determined by both the number and size of openings and also the temperature differentials between low and high risk.