Food/Beverage Air

FDA cGMPs

117.20 Plant and ground

(6) Provide adequate ventilation or control equipment to minimize dust, odors and vapors (including steam and noxious fumes) in areas where they may cause allergen cross-contact or contaminate food; and locate and operate fans and other air-blowing equipment in a manner that minimizes the potential for allergen cross-contact and for contaminating food, food-packaging materials, and food-contact surfaces.

GFSI REQUIREMENTS

SECTIONS OF SQF CODE 8 RELATING TO COMPRESSED AIR

• 3.5.6 - Animal Feed
• 4.5.5 - Pet food
• 9.5.6 - Pre-processing of animal products
• 10.5.5 - Pre-processing of plant products
• 11.5.5 - Manufacturing
• 12.5.6 - Storage and Distribution
• 13.5.3 - Manufacture of Food Packaging

SQF COMPRESSED AIR REQUIREMENTS

11.5.5  The Quality of Air and Other Gases

• 11.5.5.1 Compressed air or other gasses (e.g. nitrogen, carbon dioxide) that contacts food or food contact surfaces shall be clean and present no risk to food safety.
• 11.5.5.2 Compressed air systems, and systems used to store or dispense other gasses used in the manufacturing process that come into contact with food or food contact surfaces shall be maintained and regularly monitored for quality and applicable food safety hazards.

SQF CODE FAQ'S AND CLARIFICATIONS

https://www.sqfi.com/about-sqf/faq/sqf-code/

• Purity; "air must not contribute any contamination to the product”
• Assume that CDA can be a source of contamination
• Use Food Grade Oil
• Appropriate filtration recommended at point of use is 0.1 micron
• Nozzles and hoses maintained in hygienic state and kept off ground
• Test to validate CDA system at a minimum of annually
• Microbiological testing performed in an aseptic manner

RECOMMENDED BY SQF CODE 8

• Air should be filtered at point of use, filter size recommended is 0.1 micron (for most uses)
• Source of contaminants to be considered are microbiological, non-viable particulate, moisture, oil and chemical as well where applicable

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN TESTING YOUR COMPRESSED AIR FOR SQF 

• OVER TESTING TO CLEAN ROOM AND STERILE STANDARDS SUCH AS ISO 8573 [1:2:1] or [2:4:2] is almost always unnecessary for the food sector and not specified by any certification body in the food, beverage or packaging industry.
• Over testing is costly leading to increased maintenance, additional  system components and unwarranted corrective action procedures.
• Running an initial baseline test is a great start to setting up a specification that meets your needs.    

The Food and Beverage manufacturing industry can apply principles of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system and a risk analysis.  The seven HACCP principles are included in the international standard ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System (FSMS). This standard is a food safety and quality management system incorporating the elements of prerequisite programs (GMP & SSOP), HACCP and the quality management system, which together form an organization’s Total Quality Management system.

For FDA and Compressed Air Testing regulated operations in the United States, HACCP compliance is currently regulated by 21 CFR part 120 & 123.  Additional food safety resources  include the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), British Compressed Air Society Limited (BCAS), Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Safe Quality Food Program (SQF).

Compressed air is a Critical Control Point (CCP) and includes direct contact or indirect contact with a food or beverage product.  TRI Air Testing suggests performing a baseline, no specification comparison, testing on new or untested systems to help determine the appropriate specification requirements.  We can also provide compressed air purity for your own custom specifications.

Food, beverage and packaging facilities must develop a careful understanding of their products and testing protocol to ensure the compressed air that is critical to their food manufacturing operations is used consistently and responsibly.

Learn More:

* If your specification requires a breakdown of oil mist from particulate a 48 hour turnaround is required to meet this specification.

** Wikipedia HACCP References