Wait a minute. Did you say food dust is dangerous? How can it be dangerous if we consume it? Food dust can cause several problems that require an industrial dust collection system as a solution. Here are a few of them.
Food Dust Creates Health Risks for Workers
Food dust poses several hazards to workers who are exposed to it without any kind of dust collection system. These include:
- Allergic reactions on the skin (dermatitis)
- Respiratory issues – Tiny particles of dust become airborne and inhaled by the workers. The dust gets lodged in the lungs and can cause anything from mild irritation and coughing to more serious, possibly life-threatening, issues such as occupational asthma and lung cancer.
Food Dust Can Combust or Explode
A food production process that contains ingredients such as flour, sugar, starch, proteins, tea, spices, and many others can form a dust cloud in a confined space that may combust or even explode if it comes in contact with an ignition source. This can not only injure or kill workers but destroy equipment and property as well. An industrial dust collection system should include features such as
- Explosion Relief Vents– These vents open if there is a dangerous buildup of pressure inside the collector. These vents release the pressure and channel the flames away from the dust collector and the company’s employees.
- Flameless Venting– These devices are installed over an explosion vent and extinguish the flames caused by combustible dust before it exits the vent.
Food Dust Causes Cross-Contamination
Food dust can cause cross-contamination by spreading microorganisms or allergens from other types of food dust. This is extremely dangerous and costly to fix if the airborne food dust problem is not mitigated immediately with an industrial dust collection system. Food dust cross-contamination triggers product recalls from manufacturers that can cost them hundreds of millions of dollars and damage a company’s reputation. With the increase in the diagnosis of specific food allergies in recent years, cross-contamination needs to be eliminated to keep customers safe.
Food Dust is Highly Regulated
Food production businesses are subject to food dust regulations from many different government agencies, including the FDA, USDA, U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and OSHA.
In order to avoid dangerous working conditions, expensive product recalls, and improving the health of your employees, an excellent dust collection system, such as those in Parker Hannifin’s DustHog industrial dust collector product lines, is essential.
Let Matrix Systems Help You with Your Food Dust Problem
At Matrix Systems, we provide DustHog industrial dust collection solutions and services in many different configurations, including the V-Series, the MCB-Series, the SCB-Series, and many others. Not only do we sell these units, but we also provide replacement air filters, provide routine maintenance with SmogHog system repair, and support them. For more information, give us a call at either (510) 822-5167 for Bay Area customers or call (530) 273-5474 for Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada area customers, complete our online contact form, or email us at mquinlan@2mxs.com.