Challenges facing food and beverage manufacturers
It is safe to say that the biggest challenge in food and beverage manufacturing is food safety. Any form of contamination can lead to huge consequences to both consumers, customers, share prices and case profits – which could massively impact your business.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) revealed that in 2020 alone, an estimated 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur every year in the UK. Airborne contamination is often the culprit for these grim figures, which is a largely preventable issue if procedures and correct manufacturing tools are in place.
Ductwork in food factories helps to reduce unpleasant odours and vapours in areas where food contamination is most likely to occur during the production process. Not only this, clean, fresh air will be able to circulate around the premises to provide a pleasant working environment for those on site.
Seeking and applying the correct solution in a food and beverage manufacturing workplace is beneficial to many, and should be a top priority for decision-makers. With the help of Airmatic, you can ensure that you’re receiving a quality, bespoke extraction service that’ll better your food and beverage business for years to come.
Design Considerations
As we often see, the design focus for ducting within food applications is mainly concentrated on the hygienic air handler, with not enough consideration given to the air delivery system. To ensure a fully sanitary process, hygienic duct design and fabrication must also be taken into consideration to decide on the required air delivery system.
To ensure your facility remains safe from contamination, the following must be considered:
Design the airflow in your plant to maintain positive air pressure on the RTE side of the operation relative to the raw side
Understand the room temperature and the impact of airflow on condensation in the plant
Zone your plant, for instance, ductwork within cold storage areas could be considered a low-care zone, whilst a food processing room might be considered a high-care zone
Solutions
Either 304 grade or 316 grade stainless steel is the recommended choice for food applications. Based on the make-up of food products or wash down chemicals, the 316 stainless steel premium for the inclusion of molybdenum (added to 316 stainless steel for corrosion resistance to chlorides) will provide real value to your operations.
Eliminate catch points in ductwork where there is material build-up leading to contamination by TIG welding or MIG welding ductwork.
Get the right extraction system for your food and beverage business with Airmatic
Discover how we can improve health and safety in your business by contacting our team on +44 (0)161 764 4004. Or, submit your request via our contact us page and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Project Director
I can say I was very pleased with the installation Airmatic did for us on our odour abatement project. The design of the system quality of ductwork and the installation was first class all delivered on time and on budget.
Project Manager
The Airmatic team excelled in the delivery of our Vapour Extract system. Their stainless steel extract system was expertly manufactured and installed to a high standard
Project Engineer
Can I compliment you and your guys for an excellent standard of work, it puts an existing system manufactured by others to shame. Thank you also for your efficiency in delivering as promised, I know where to go for any future requirements