Close confinement with isolators in the food industry

Today, controlling the microbiological contamination of foodstuffs is essential not only to guarantee their safety for the consumer, but also to offer products that comply with regulatory criteria and present a consistent and satisfactory organoleptic quality. It is an integral part of a company's quality approach (Directive 93 / 43 / EEC on the hygiene of foodstuffs), and is required throughout the product manufacturing and distribution chain.

Microbiological contamination of a product may come from the raw material (primary contamination) and/or the environment (secondary contamination). The latter was implicated in over 20% of collective food poisoning outbreaks reported in 1997 [1] , the main vectors of contamination being air, personnel and equipment surfaces. To minimize the contribution of such contamination, European Directive 93/43 introduced general hygiene rules. Whenever possible, manufacturers also use stabilization treatments at the end of the process (elimination of water by drying, cold stabilization, heat treatment, use of preservatives, preservation in a modified atmosphere, treatment with ionizing radiation, etc.). However, these technological processes have the disadvantage of modifying the products' texture, organoleptic characteristics and nutritional qualities. When the transformation process does not allow for the use of such treatments, or when the treated products subsequently undergo transformation operations that are particularly sensitive to microbiological contamination (slicing, portioning, dosing...), another solution is to limit the contribution of secondary contamination by means of protective equipment, the main feature of which is to deliver microbiologically controlled quality air around the product. These installations are attracting growing interest, as they not only preserve the hygienic quality of the product and extend its shelf life, but also offer consumers "more natural" products with sensory, nutritional and service qualities that meet their expectations.

Various types of equipment are used in the food industry to protect against microbiological contamination from the environment. The isolator represents an alternative technology.