The importance of CLEARCLIMA® conditioning on a yogurt processing and packaging environment

4 May 2023

Hygiene management in yoghurt production and packaging premises is essential.

It can happen to find yoghurts on the market, regardless of their nature, with a certain superficial mouldiness. We can trace the origin of these contaminations to:

• poorly sanitized conveyance systems;
• polluted production and packaging environment (air, surfaces, equipment);
• contaminated packaging materials;
• added semi-finished products (semi-prepared fruit, cereals, flavourings, etc.) contaminated

The air is a source of contamination that has its own microflora, characterized by microorganisms such as moulds, yeasts and bacteria, and the extent of the contamination itself depends on various factors such as the movement of currents, the level of humidity, the sunlight , etc,.

Microorganisms have the ability to spread by exploiting the airways through the aerosol (a mixture of solid and liquid particles diluted in a gas: air). Combined with the currents, the aerosol also moves for several hours and can come into contact with unprotected food products which will inevitably be contaminated.

An important aspect is the control of the absence of mold on the surfaces. Where the process requires filtered or purified air, it will in fact be important to monitor it, as its quality must not involve any risk of product contamination.

The CLEARCLIMA® system proposed by STANDARD TECH can lower the risk of pollution by intervening with suitable systems of filtration, use of ultraviolet rays, the maintenance of a constant pressurization of the treated environment and the use of appropriate disinfectants. It also prevents the formation of condensation or dust: the latter is a problematic element, as it supports the microorganisms and participates in the formation of aerosols, and its formation must therefore be avoided.

Standard tech also places emphasis on the packaging phase: personnel hygiene, cleaning of equipment and management of operator flows within the premises must be managed in such a way as to avoid unwanted contamination.

To obtain a safe packaging free from contamination, it is possible to proceed thanks to HEPA filtration and further disinfection systems of the packaging materials: the yoghurt is packaged in an atmosphere of filtered air which is distributed in laminar flow, and the packaging materials are subjected to a decontamination treatment with UVC rays.