Why Venting Filter Size Matters in Food & Beverage Production
Any scientist can tell you that microbes are abundant in the air we breathe every day. They are in the air inside your home, outdoors, and in your workplace. Some of these microbes are harmless, but others could cause serious illness.
This article is posted on our Science Snippets Blog.
Those same microbes are also in the air at food and beverage manufacturing plants, including:
- Bacteria
- Yeast
- Mold
- Viruses
You enforce good manufacturing practices for employees — like regular handwashing and avoiding cross-contamination on surfaces — but even the best hygiene standards can’t eliminate microscopic particles from the air. To capture those and keep them out of your final food and beverage product, your processing equipment requires venting filters.
The Challenges in Venting Filter Implementation
Product safety is always top-of-mind in manufacturing. Unfortunately, the environment in a manufacturing facility is also ideal for biological contamination, and the microorganisms that could be most harmful are not something you can easily see.
To ensure product safety, you must find venting filters that:
- Are the right size for your tanks
- Provide adequate ventilation to prevent tank damage
- Trap microorganisms present in your facility before they get into the tanks
- Are easy to implement
Finding the Right Size Venting Filters
Tank size is one factor to consider in choosing the right size filter, but it’s not the only one. You also need to calculate:
- Maximum differential pressure supported by the tank
- Maximum liquid flowrate while emptying and filling the tank
- How your tanks are cleaned and sterilized (using cold or hot chemicals)
- What connections you need for the air filters
- How you are using your tanks (multiple use versus single use)
The right venting filter size improves product and facility safety while shortening process times and enhancing flexibility in the manufacturing process.
Eliminating Microorganisms
There are several points in the manufacturing process when your products are at risk of biological contamination, including:
- Sterilization
- Filling
- Emptying
Many food and beverage products also travel through several tanks, multiplying the potential exposure to contaminants as you introduce external air from your facilities at each step. Without a venting filter, you are at risk of introducing contaminants from the surrounding environment, but product safety is not a guarantee, even with a filter. You must have the right size filter to capture all the harmful microorganisms while still allowing adequate airflow in and out of the tanks.
Properly sized venting filters increase product safety by:
- Avoiding microbiological contamination
- Preventing unsterile air from coming into contact with your product
- Ensuring safe cleaning procedures for each of your tanks
Preventing Tank Damage
In addition to product safety, you also need to be thinking about your facilities. The wrong filter can negatively impact equipment, product quality, and employee safety.
Seals on the tanks that hold ingredients for the manufacturing process prevent contamination. As you fill and empty these tanks, the air inside is displaced. Air flows out of the tank when liquid or solid ingredients go in, and new air must flow into the tank as the liquid or solid ingredients move into to the manufactured product.
Without appropriate ventilation, the tank is at risk to implode or explode as the pressure inside builds up, the rupture causing expensive cleanup and tank repairs. It’s a costly mistake and one that no manufacturing facility wants to make.
However, you cannot simply open the tank to enable air to flow through because it would allow environmental contaminants to get inside and create an unsafe product. For safe and sanitary ventilation, you need an appropriate filter that allows exactly the right air volume to efficiently displace contents as they move in and out of the tank.
You may also need other connections and attachments along with your air filter to prevent it from getting wet or contaminated by what is inside the tank.
How to Get the Right Size Filter for Food & Beverage Processing
If you’re unsure where to start or how to calculate the specific size venting filters you need, there is good news: you don’t have to do this on your own.
Sartorius understands the food and beverage manufacturing process and has experts who can help you calculate the exact size filter you need based on parameters unique to your facility and your product, including:
- Environment
- Scale
- Size
- Temperature
Our solutions are easy to implement in your manufacturing process immediately, from small-scale labs, medium-size scale to industrial-size manufacturing plants.
Learn more about our extensive product portfolio of venting filters then contact us to speak to one of our experts and learn how we can help you get the filters you need.