What Are The Cleanliness Level Requirements for Food Clean Rooms?

In the field of food industry, food safety and hygiene have always been the fundamental guarantee for the survival and development of enterprises. Especially in recent years, as consumers' requirements for food quality continue to increase, national and international standards have also been introduced one after another, which have put forward stricter requirements for the food production environment. Among them, Food Clean Room, as an important facility for preventing and controlling food contamination and ensuring product quality, is gradually being widely used in dairy products, baking, beverages, condiments, health foods and other industries.

So, what level of cleanliness does the food clean room need to achieve? What standards are used for classification? How to scientifically plan Cleanroom Design to ensure that the workshop environment is always under control? In this article, we will analyze it in detail for you.

Why do food processing plants need to build clean rooms?

Traditional food processing workshops mostly use ordinary production environments. Dust particles and microorganisms in the air can easily cause secondary contamination to food, which in turn affects the taste, shelf life and safety of the product, and even causes food safety accidents in serious cases. Especially for high-end baking, dairy products, condiments, ready-to-eat foods, health foods, aseptic packaged foods, etc., which have strict requirements on microorganisms, building clean rooms has become a hard standard in the industry.

The clean room effectively controls the number of particles and bacteria in the air through high-efficiency air filtration systems, closed structure design, air flow control, personnel logistics separation and clean equipment configuration, minimizes the risk of food contamination, improves the product hygiene level, and helps companies pass HACCP, ISO, GMP and other certifications.

Common cleanliness levels and standards for food clean rooms

The cleanliness level of food clean rooms mainly refers to the international standard ISO Clean Room standard (ISO 14644-1:2015), which divides the environmental cleanliness into ISO 1 ~ ISO 9 levels according to the number of particles per unit volume of air in the clean room. The smaller the number, the higher the cleanliness.

Common food clean room areas are as follows:

For example:

• Quick-frozen dumpling workshop packaging area: ISO 8

• Dairy product filling room: ISO 7

• Health food tablet production area: ISO 6

• Fresh juice aseptic filling: ISO 5

Key points of cleanroom design for food

After the cleanliness level is determined, scientific and reasonable cleanroom design is the key to achieving the cleanliness control goal. The design of the food cleanroom should fully combine the process characteristics, personnel logistics lines and operating environment, meet the standards and take into account practicality and economy. The specific design elements are as follows:

1. Air flow organization

Use unidirectional flow, mixed flow or local laminar flow to ensure that clean air flows from the clean area to the low cleanliness area, forming an air positive pressure gradient to avoid reverse transmission of pollution.

2. Air filtration system

Equipped with HEPA high-efficiency filter, the filtration efficiency of particles ≥0.3μm is ≥99.99%, and it is regularly tested and replaced to keep the air cleanliness stable.

3. Air ventilation frequency

Reasonably set according to the cleanliness level requirements, ISO 8 level is usually ≥15 times/h, ISO 6 level ≥40 times/h, to ensure that the indoor particle concentration meets the standard.

4. Material selection

Inner walls, floors, and ceilings are made of smooth, seamless, corrosion-resistant, moisture-resistant, and easy-to-clean materials to avoid dust accumulation and bacterial growth.

5. Personnel/logistics separation

Set up personnel clean passages and material clean passages, use Air Shower Room, buffer room, and shoe-changing room to prevent cross contamination.

6. Intelligent monitoring system

Install online monitoring systems for temperature, humidity, pressure difference, dust particles, and microorganisms to monitor the workshop environment in real time and issue warnings in a timely manner if abnormalities occur.

Key points of operation, maintenance and management of food clean rooms

After the design is completed, a good operation and maintenance management system is also the key to ensure that the cleanliness of food clean rooms is stable and up to standard. The focus should be on:

• Daily monitoring of air dust particles and microbial concentrations

• Regular HEPA leak detection and filter replacement

• Air conditioning system filter and air duct cleaning and disinfection

• Regular air exchange volume and positive pressure value detection

• Strict personnel dress code and entry and exit management

In addition, enterprises should adjust the cleanliness control plan in a timely manner according to production batches, product types and seasonal changes to improve the overall hygiene management level of food workshops.

Summary

The cleanliness level of food clean rooms must be based on ISO Clean Room standards and national Food Clean Room Standards, combined with process characteristics, scientifically divide the workshop area level, rationally plan the Cleanroom Design, and configure air purification equipment and clean facilities that meet the standards. A complete supporting operation and management system can effectively improve the cleanliness level of food processing workshops, ensure product safety and hygiene, help companies establish brand image, and enhance market competitiveness.