4 replies to this topic

[OrRedFood]

Hi all - Our maintenance person is telling the food safety team that the standard 0.01 micron point of contact air filter required by most food safety auditing schemes in becoming very hard to find and wants to know if it is possible to clean them and reuse them.  

 

I know he is under pressure from the owner to save money and I don't know if the filters are really hard to find or if he is trying to find a way to not buy new ones.  He is more of a mechanic than anything and I don't know if his information is reliable. It seems like this has been a requirement for years and it can't be that hard to purchase these air filters.  

 

Any suggestions or sources are appreciated, thanks!

[kingstudruler1]

is there are procedure to clean them from the MFG?   I cant imagine its possible to clean them, but I'm not sure. 

 

 Honestly im not sure the .01 micron makes sense.   are there slightly larger ones available?

[Tony-C]

Hi OrRedFood,

 

I don’t believe you can clean those filters and then guarantee they are still effective as designed.

 

There may be things that can be done to extend usage such as other filters at stages upstream if you don’t currently do that.

 

Also that specification of filter is for direct or indirect food contact, is that what you need?

 

Regarding the filter size, for food contact 0.01 microns is recommended by SQF. The SQF Air and Other Gases Guidance Document states:

Wherever the compressed air meets the food, either directly or indirectly, high-efficiency filters are to be in place at the point-of-use where the air enters the final section of tubing (not in the compressor room). This will significantly reduce the risk of microbial contamination of the food from the air. The recommended final stage of filtration in these food contact areas should have a rating of 0.01 microns with an efficiency of 99.999% (or as determined by appropriate risk analysis). Sufficient filtration is to be in place directly upstream of the final stage to protect the final stage from oil and water aerosols.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[Charles.C]

Hi all - Our maintenance person is telling the food safety team that the standard 0.01 micron point of contact air filter required by most food safety auditing schemes in becoming very hard to find and wants to know if it is possible to clean them and reuse them.  

 

I know he is under pressure from the owner to save money and I don't know if the filters are really hard to find or if he is trying to find a way to not buy new ones.  He is more of a mechanic than anything and I don't know if his information is reliable. It seems like this has been a requirement for years and it can't be that hard to purchase these air filters.  

 

Any suggestions or sources are appreciated, thanks!

The dimension is part of the specifications associated with an air filter package typically referred to as a "Sterile Filter".Afaik, it's a well-known Product (discussed in a previous thread here) and I would have thought should be available.

Regarding cleaning, as per previous Posts, easiest to ask the manufacturer (if known).

[OrRedFood]

Thank you all, you have all confirmed my line of thinking.  I have a call into the compressor company that services us and provides the filter, they have always been a great source.  If there was a way to clean and reuse these filters, there would be info all over the place for the procedure, IMO.  I will share this with our mechanic.  It is very difficult to have a single maintenance person in the plant, who I have grown to mistrust.  I'm glad that at my last job this was the complete opposite, and I was able to learn about a lot of these topics so that I can speak to them without his help.