Flexible cleanroom technology ensures safety in yogurt filling
Regional foods are very popular with consumers. Regio Molkerei beider Basel AG, which is part of the Emmi Group, only processes milk from regional farmers. In order to achieve optimum quality and a long shelf life when filling smaller batches, the milk processing plant uses cleanroom technology to fill its regional organic yoghurts.
Regio Molkerei beider Basel AG processes four to five million kilograms of milk a year, which is supplied by around 40 farms in the Basel region. After the business had to file for bankruptcy and cease operations in 2010, it was taken over by Emmi, thus saving the regional dairy from going out of business. Preserving the regional concept has always remained a fundamental concern in the continuation of the business: short transport routes and the strengthening of local agriculture are highly valued by end consumers. Migros Basel and Coop, for example, have successfully included regional dairy products in their product ranges, most recently also a Baselbieter cheese. Emmi takes a back seat here as a brand, but provides the financial basis and sound experience for the successful establishment of the site. The top priority was to ensure first-class product quality. Here, as in the entire Emmi Group, there are no compromises. To ensure product safety and a longer shelf life for the organic yoghurt without the use of preservatives, the dairy has now invested in a cleanroom facility.
During the yoghurt filling process, the “Kesseli” filling machine is enclosed in an ISO cleanroom class 7 laminar flow housing. The CleanFlowCell® enclosure was supplied by SCHILLING ENGINEERING and specially adapted to the filling process. Martin Ineichen, Operations Manager at Regio Molkerei, explains the benefits of the cleanroom technology used during the filling of the organic natural yoghurt:
“The laminar flow removes yeast and mold bacteria from the air during filling, so that we can guarantee the perfect quality of the yogurt. The shelf life of the product is significantly increased by the process.”
The 4 m² cleanroom tent consists of an aluminum support frame construction with two laminar flow units with ULPA high-performance filters in the ceiling to ensure the required air purity. The system is enclosed by transparent PVC film curtains that can be fitted quickly and securely with Velcro fasteners.
In addition to the flawless filter technology, which is checked with a particle measuring device before each filling process, Ineichen, who holds a degree in dairy technology, was particularly impressed by the flexibility of the CleanFlowCell® system:
“We only fill the organic natural yogurt once a week in 850 gram containers. The filling system is mobile so that it doesn’t take up unnecessary space. We were looking for a suitable laminar flow housing to support this flexible use. The cleanroom tent from SCHILLING ENGINEERING is equipped with castors and its size was adapted precisely to our requirements. We can easily park it in the cellar and move it into the production hall during filling times. The uncomplicated entry and exit of the filling machine also simplifies the separate cleaning of the systems. This principle really helps us to remain flexible and works perfectly, as promised.”
With the cost-effective and flexible options offered by the latest standards, cleanroom technology can also be usefully integrated into smaller operations and contributes to a further increase in safety in food production.
