Air conditioning and climate control in the food industry

Food quality can be broken down into four main concepts (the "4 S's"):

• hygienic and sanitary quality: safety ;

• organoleptic quality: satisfaction ;

• nutritional quality: health ;

• quality of use: service.

Microbiological hazards threaten the sanitary, organoleptic and usage quality of foodstuffs:

• sanitary quality: food products can be the vector and growth medium for pathogenic germs and/or their toxins;

• organoleptic and usage quality: the usage value of foodstuffs is diminished by the development of saprophytic microbial spoilage flora.

Controlling microbiological hazards requires multi-factorial action, including good manufacturing and hygiene practices, and the implementation of a HACCP-type food safety approach 2.2.3 . Controlling the environment, and in particular the air-conditioning of production premises, is an essential part of this approach.

The aim of environmental control is :

· Limit microbiological contamination of intermediate and finished products.

· Slow down the development of micro-organisms already present on foodstuffs.

· Enable satisfactory productivity in safe, people-friendly working conditions.

This article is limited to environmental conditions. Building materials, production equipment, lighting, effluent disposal, process gases and water, steam and compressed air management are not covered. With regard to the design of workspaces with a view to preventing occupational hazards, the reader is referred to the article [22] in this treatise.