This issue is very accurate. The air shower room is indeed a crucial part of the clean control in food production workshops. Its core function is to remove dust, hair, and other contaminants adhering to the surface of personnel/materials before they enter the clean area, blocking the entry of external pollution sources from the source and thus ensuring the safety of food production.
The reason why air showers are indispensable mainly lies in the following three core reasons:
Blocking human pollution sources: Personnel are the largest dynamic pollution source in food workshops. If the surface of employees’ clothing, hair, skin debris, etc., directly enters the clean area, they will become carriers for the breeding and spread of microorganisms, which may lead to cross-contamination of food. The air shower can effectively remove these adhering contaminants through the powerful blowing of high-speed clean air flow (usually with a wind speed of ≥25m/s).
Prevent secondary contamination of materials: Packaging materials, tools, semi-finished products, etc., required for production may come into contact with external dust during transportation and storage. The air shower can blow and spray these materials, preventing them from bringing contaminants into the core production area and ensuring that the materials remain clean from entry to use.
Maintain a positive pressure environment in the clean area: The clean area for food production usually needs to maintain a positive pressure to prevent the infiltration of external unclean air. As a “buffer passage” between the clean area and the non-clean area, the air shower room features an interlocking door design (i.e., it cannot be opened simultaneously), which can effectively prevent direct air convection between the two areas, thereby stabilizing the positive pressure and cleanliness level of the clean area.
In comparison, let’s look at the core value of the air shower room：
| “Comparison dimension” | The production process with air shower rooms | The production process without air shower rooms |
| Pollutant control |
Contaminants on the surface of personnel/materials were removed in advance
|
Pollutants are directly brought into the clean area, posing a high risk of contamination |
| Cleanliness stability | The air cleanliness in clean areas (such as 10,000 grade and 100,000 grade) is easy to maintain | The cleanliness of the clean area fluctuates greatly and is easily affected by external factors |
| Food qualification rate | It effectively reduces problems such as excessive microorganisms and foreign matter contamination, with a high pass rate | Microbial contamination and foreign matter problems occur frequently, and the pass rate is low |
|
Compliance |
It complies with the requirements of regulations such as GB 14881 “National Food Safety Standard – General Hygienic Specifications for Food Production” | It is difficult to meet the strict requirements of food safety regulations for the production environment |
