Standard for quality grade of compressed air for food

No industry uses pneumatic conveying methods to transport as many materials as the food and beverage industry. From sugar and flour to grains and many other products, millions of tons of food are transported around the world every day.

This presents two major challenges for companies in the food and beverage industry: First, they need to obtain a reliable supply of large-volume compressed air. In addition, they must meet the stringent compressed air standards of the food industry.

Safe delivery of goods for human consumption

when materials are conveyed pneumatically, they come into direct contact with compressed air. Therefore, any contaminants contained in the compressed air may enter the material and subsequently into the finished product. If a little oil or a small amount of particles are found in the concrete used for paving, this may not be a big problem. However, the situation is different when the material being transported is used to produce products for human consumption. The consequences of such contamination are often devastating and costly: from the loss of entire production lots to recalls or lawsuits. Fortunately, there are a number of air treatment solutions and products that can prevent these results and help food and beverage manufacturers meet the compressed air standards of the food industry.

Below is information about applicable food safety and compressed air quality standards and how to protect your pneumatic conveying system and finished products from harmful contaminants.

ISO 22000

ISO 22000 is one of the most important international food safety standards. It applies to any organization that is directly or indirectly involved in the production of food. This includes not only major producers such as farms, but also food processors and packaged or canned food manufacturers. The standard helps all these organizations identify and control potential food safety hazards. Therefore, it plays a key role in ensuring the quality and transparency of food processing and production facilities (including feed mills), such as operations using pneumatic conveying. It also helps businesses and consumers maintain confidence in the food supply chain and makes it easier for products to cross borders. As a result, customers of companies that meet this voluntary standard can feel reassured that the products they consume are safe.

ISO 8573-1

then there is the ISO 8573-1 standard, which can be a very important resource for companies looking to use ideal compressed air handling equipment and processes. It helps companies understand how clean the compressed air needs to be by defining the contaminant content (ISO 8573-1 divides contaminants into solid particles, water and oil), which is the amount of contaminants allowed to be present at a specific location in the system after the compressed air has been treated. ISO 8573-1 classifies compressed air into seven air quality classes. The lower the level, the cleaner the air must be. All but one of the levels have well-defined thresholds. For higher grades, these thresholds are easily reached. For lower grades, such as compressed air standards in the food industry, reaching the threshold becomes more challenging.

For the food industry, the very important ISO 8573-1 level is Class 0, which is the only level that does not define the level of contamination. However, this does not mean that Class 0 air must be completely free of pollution. In fact, its allowable pollutant level is set by the user and the supplier of the respective air treatment device. In any case, the threshold value for Class 0 must be lower than the threshold value for Class 1.

Advantages of oil-free equipment

companies in the food and beverage industry can reduce the risk of compressed air pollution (and meet Class 0 requirements in terms of oil pollution) by using our oil-free compressed air equipment. It ensures that the oil used as a lubricant does not enter the air stream, thereby avoiding contamination of the food product being pneumatically conveyed. In addition, the use of oil-free compressors also eliminates the use of oil removal filters.

In addition, dryers and different types of filters will enable you to reduce moisture and particles to safe levels to ensure that you can even meet the very strict compressed air standards of the food industry.