How To Perform Air Sterilization And Disinfection In Food Factory Workshops? You Need To Know These Methods

In the production workshop of a food factory, the most feared thing is that the total number of bacterial colonies in the product exceeds the standard and the product becomes moldy and spoiled.

Many friends who are engaged in the field of food processing have encountered this situation: Although the control of raw materials is very strict and there are no errors in the production process, the finished product does not meet the standards when sent for inspection, or mold spots have appeared on the surface of the product before it has reached the shelf life.

In fact, the cause of the problem often lies not in the raw materials and operations, but in the invisible air in the workshop.

There are many microorganisms such as mold spores and bacteria in the air. Once they attach to the surface of the product, they will multiply rapidly under the conditions of suitable temperature and humidity.

Today, let’s talk in detail about air disinfection in food production workshops to help you sort out the pros and cons of various disinfection methods and choose a disinfection plan that suits your own workshop.

Disinfection and sterilization, there is a big difference between them

Before starting to discuss specific methods, we must first understand two basic concepts, namely disinfection and sterilization.

Many workshop managers are easily confused, resulting in choosing the wrong processing method.

Disinfection refers to a method that kills pathogenic microorganisms, but does not necessarily kill bacterial spores.

Under normal circumstances, we use chemical methods to achieve the purpose of disinfection, and the chemicals used for disinfection are called disinfectants.

There is also sterilization, which is to kill all microorganisms on the object, including bacterial spores.

There is such a situation. For food workshops, air disinfection is classified. It can be classified as physical disinfection or chemical disinfection. These two categories are included.

Only by understanding these two concepts can we choose whether to disinfect or sterilize based on the risk levels of different areas.

UV lamp, economical and practical surface disinfection expert

Ultraviolet germicidal lamp is the most familiar disinfection equipment in many food workshops.

It has this principle, which uses ultraviolet radiation to destroy the DNA structure of microorganisms, thereby achieving a sterilization effect.

A common practice is to arrange lamps evenly on the ceiling of the workshop, which is suitable for open environments without obstruction and for air disinfection.

It has significant advantages: its operation is simple, its cost is low, and it does not add any actions, nor does it produce any toxic or harmful substances.

But its shortcomings are equally prominent.

The bactericidal effect of ultraviolet rays is relatively limited, especially against highly resistant microorganisms such as molds (that is, spores) and spores, which are basically ineffective.

In addition, UV lamps are prone to scaling, which requires regular cleaning. The lamp itself also has the problem of aging, and its degree of attenuation is difficult to control in real time.

This requires the operator to have high technical ability and be able to measure the attenuation in time and then replace the lamp.

Otherwise, if the lights are installed but the effect cannot be achieved, they will become just decorations.

Air filtration and chemical fumigation, each has its own application scenarios

Filtering the air is one of the physical disinfection methods. Its principle is actually not complicated. Specifically, it uses physical retention to ultimately achieve the purpose of intercepting and retaining dust and microorganisms existing in the air.

In the process of food packaging, especially during the period of aseptic (purification) packaging, a purified environment (that is, a clean room) is required.

The place where the filtered air is purified again and then sent to a specific environment is the clean room. In this place, the food that has been thermally sterilized will be cooled and packaged.

This is a method that requires high investment in equipment.

In terms of chemical fumigation, formaldehyde is a classic disinfectant that cannot be avoided.

It is cheap, non-corrosive and has powerful killing effect on most pathogenic microorganisms, including stubborn spores and fungi.

But the shortcomings of formaldehyde also cause headaches for workshop managers.

Its disinfection and sterilization effect takes a long time and will affect the normal production rhythm.

What is further troublesome is that after disinfection is completed, the reason is to eliminate pungent odors, which requires a long time to open the ventilation system. This not only increases energy consumption, but also easily introduces secondary pollution due to problems with the ventilation system itself.

Alcohol and ozone, disinfection options from surfaces to air

Alcohol is the most common disinfectant in workshops.

Here, there is something special to remind you about the selection of disinfectant alcohol. The alcohol used should be 75% alcohol, not 95% alcohol.

This is because 95% alcohol will cause the proteins on the surface of the bacteria to quickly solidify, thereby forming a protective film. This protective film will prevent the alcohol from continuing to enter the interior of the bacteria, so that the bacteria cannot be completely killed.

If the concentration of alcohol is lower than 70%, it will not be able to coagulate the proteins in the bacteria, and it will also not be able to completely kill the bacteria.

However, alcohol has great limitations. It is only suitable for wiping the surface of objects or for soaking and disinfecting small appliances. It cannot be used to disinfect environmental spaces at all.

Moreover, alcohol is extremely volatile and will quickly evaporate below the effective concentration range after use, making it impossible to maintain the disinfection effect for a long time.

Ozone disinfection is currently a widely used air disinfection method.

Some species have the function of killing bacterial propagules or spores, viruses, fungi, etc. Ozone is one of the broad-spectrum fungicides with this function.

It not only sterilizes, but also removes odors and purifies the environment.

Compared with ultraviolet rays, ozone has stronger sterilization ability. It can achieve disinfection in a short time without introducing new chemicals or causing secondary pollution. It is efficient, environmentally friendly, broad-spectrum and thorough.

However, it should be noted that ozone disinfection must be carried out under unmanned conditions.

As a substance with strong oxidizing ability, it has a damaging effect on a variety of items. The higher the concentration, the greater the degree of damage. For example, copper sheets will show green rust spots, rubber will age and become brittle, fabrics will be bleached and fade, etc.

Chlorine-containing disinfectants and peracetic acid, advantages and limitations of traditional methods

Among the extremely common types of chlorine-containing disinfectants, sodium hypochlorite falls into this category, bleaching powder falls into this category, chlorine dioxide falls into this category, and polychlorinated compounds also fall into this category.

It has the advantage that there are no difficulties in the purchase process, the cost incurred in use is relatively low, and it has excellent killing effects on bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

The effective chlorine content is usually ≥55% and is often used for preventive disinfection and disinfection of epidemic areas.

However, the composition of chlorine-containing disinfectants is not stable and is easily affected by light factors. It is also easily affected by many factors such as ambient temperature and pH value. The stability of its aqueous solution is not good.

Peracetic acid disinfectant is a chemical that has a high bactericidal effect and can kill highly resistant microorganisms such as spores and molds.

Under the circumstances of use, you can use 15% peracetic acid concentration for heating and fumigation, which requires 7 ml per cubic meter, and the fumigation time is 120 minutes, or you can use 2% peracetic acid solution for spray treatment, which requires 8 ml per cubic meter, and keep it for 30 to 60 minutes.

However, its pungent odor and strong corrosiveness (especially obvious to metals) are its main shortcomings.

Chlorine dioxide and quaternary ammonium salts, a comparison between high efficiency and mildness

Chlorine dioxide disinfectant is an internationally recognized highly efficient disinfectant and sterilizer.

It kills all microorganisms, including bacterial propagules and bacterial spores, as well as fungi, including mycobacteria and viruses, without developing resistance.

On the one hand, its mechanism of action lies in adsorbing and penetrating the cell wall of microorganisms. On the other hand, it oxidizes enzymes containing sulfhydryl groups in cells. In addition, it also inhibits protein synthesis.

After long-term demonstration by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, chlorine dioxide has been confirmed as an ideal agent for disinfection in the food processing field, an ideal agent for disinfection in the medical and health field, and an ideal replacement product for chlorine-based disinfectants.

To disinfect food processing tools, you can use stable chlorine dioxide on the market to disinfect hard object surfaces. You can also use this stable chlorine dioxide to disinfect indoor air. You can also use stable chlorine dioxide on the market.

Compared with the high efficiency and power of chlorine dioxide, quaternary ammonium salt disinfectants are much milder.

Common ones include benzalkonium (benzalkonium chloride), benzalkonium bromide (benzalkonium bromide), and domiphene, etc., which are inefficient disinfectants.

It has single-chain type, double-chain type, compound type and many other types. Relatively speaking, it is more mild and safe, and it is less irritating to people and equipment.

However, it has obvious shortcomings, and its sterilization efficiency is relatively low. It is only suitable for places where the requirements for microorganisms are not so stringent, or it can be used as a means of auxiliary disinfection.

After clarifying the characteristics of these different disinfection methods, everyone must have a clearer understanding of air disinfection in food workshops.

No method is one-size-fits-all. The key is to select an appropriate disinfection plan based on the actual situation of the workshop, the types of products produced, and the strictness of microbial control.

In many cases, it is still necessary to combine several methods, such as using ozone or ultraviolet rays to maintain basic hygiene conditions in daily periods, and using chlorine dioxide or peracetic acid at fixed intervals to carry out deep and thorough disinfection operations.

Only when the air microbial content in the workshop is controlled within a safe range can product contamination be eliminated from the source and the bottom line of food safety be truly maintained.