Airborne bacteria is a serious concern for the food and beverage industry. In an open plant application, for example, 15 million bacteria are capable of passing through certain air handling systems every hour. When airborne bacteria are not controlled and eliminated, food and beverage processors can run into serious problems.
First, these bacteria reduce the quality of the company’s products. More seriously, however, they can jeopardize consumer health and safety if consumers are exposed food contamination. This can lead to serious legal issues, ruin a company’s reputation and ultimately negatively impact their bottom line. This why it is imperative that food and beverage processors take airborne bacteria very seriously. Extensive air filtration is essential to eliminating airborne bacteria, as you will see below.
How to Eliminate Airborne Bacteria in Food and Beverage Processing
- Custom HEPA Filters
Since the food and beverage processing industry needs to achieve such a high standard of air quality, custom HEPA air filters are needed. HEPA filters (which are different from standard filters) are designed for industries that need critical air filtration. Essentially, HEPA filters are very powerful filters that are capable of capturing at least 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles (in other words, very small particles), which make them a leading choice when it comes to eliminating contaminants and other very harmful particles in vulnerable sectors. For example, HEPA filters are used not only in the food and beverage processing industry but also other industries where critical air filtration is necessary, such as in the areas of aerospace, surgical suites and dentists’ offices (for dental equipment), to name just a few.Custom filters, in general, are specifically designed to fit equipment in the food and beverage processing industry (or whatever equipment they are being made for), and as such, they result in better performance when it comes to function and filtration over standard off-the-shelf filters. They also last longer. Custom filters, including custom HEPA filters, go through rigorous laboratory testing; these filters are tested for leaks, fractional efficiency and air filter certification.
- Pre-Filters (Rooftop Mounted HVAC Systems)
For rooftop mounted HVAC systems, a combination of pre-filters and HEPA filters are the recommended choice.
APC Filtration is a certified manufacturer that has been working in air filter design, engineering, manufacturing and testing for industrial, commercial and household equipment for over 35 years. We develop powerful custom air filters to protect the food and beverage industry. Contact us for more information.
