Close protection for food packaging

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Close protection for food packaging

With the development of the market for pre-cut, pre-cooked, and "ready-to-eat" products, microbial contamination can have heavier consequences. That is why hygiene requirements are more and more strict at the time of packaging. In order to assist food processors in facing these requirements, Georges Arroyo and his team developed a progressive air flow system, providing sterile protection but allowing handling operations.

Georges Arroyo

Designed on the basis of digital simulations of air flow, the technique was first validated in the laboratory as part of the Ultraclean Plant program. This program is managed by industry professionals belonging to the UNIR (Ultraclean, Nutrition, Industry, Research) Association with the support of the ministries in charge of industry, research, and agriculture. The system was then adapted to industrial equipment.

Cleanrooms with progressive flow
Currently, few food processors can house their production lines in a truly ef-fective cleanroom. The nature of the products, machines, and processing operations and the circulation of personnel and equipment multiply internal sources of contaminants. All of which considerably reduces the effectiveness of these spaces, despite their being isolated from the exterior. That is why the notion of close protection is progressively taking hold. The concept consists of protecting the immediate environment of the product during processing and packaging by a flow of ultra-clean air. The principal problem is that of ensur-ing maintenance of ultra-cleanliness in low-pressure air flows open to the at-mosphere in the production room. Production rooms are subject to sources of instability that can result in the entry of contaminating particles. The team is working on the optimisation of air inlet and return techniques to reduce these risks of contamination as much as possible. Progressive flow is the first applica-tion to come out of their research. This technique of close protection is in-tended for vulnerable zones such as work surfaces and conveyors. The prod-ucts transiting these zones are protected by a flow of ultra-clean air across the vulnerable zone. Based on digital simulation of air flow, the principle was validated by numerous experiments.

Protection that allows handling
The originality of the system lies in the idea of protection even during handling. The entire surface exposed to the air flow is sterile. Persons working around the zone do not contaminate the products, even when their arms enter the protective air flow. To obtain this result, the Aerobio team associated with the Laboratoire d'Etudes Aérodynamiques in Poitiers to research the effect of obstacles entering the air flow. An analysis of the aerodynamic disturbances induced by such entries was used to devise protections against accidental contamination of products. Progressive flow can be adapted to different situations and need not be located in a strict cleanroom environment to guarantee the quality of the products being packaged. At the request of the food processor, the researchers can create specific solutions for the critical points in production lines. Research is now focusing on maintaining a tem-perature of near 0°C at the level of the packaging tables, while still keeping the temperature in the room at 15°C. The system could then be used for meat and fish cutting. The agro-food industry is evolving today towards control of food hygiene. The system, which has proved to be highly effective in real situations, is protected by a UNIR-Cemagref patent. It will also be made available to hospitals for the protection of surgical instruments and prostheses, and to pharmaceutical and biological analysis laboratories. Other techniques are under study for situations other than work surfaces, such as the protection of sachet and bag filling or cup filling machines.

Interview with Joël Delville, Research Engineer at the Laboratoire d'Etudes Aérodynamiques of the University of Poitiers and with Carine Boulanger Microbiology Engineer - Hygienist with Christian Hansen

Contact:

Georges Arroyo

Food process engineering
research unit

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