With the increasing popularity of nutraceutical, vitamin and supplement use across the nation, and as more nutraceutical producers enter the market, the need for proper, certifiably safe supplement production equipment continues to grow. In an industry as highly-regulated as the supplement industry, however, manufacturers are required by law to take the proper steps to ensure their products are safe and fit for consumption.
Among the most effective and widely-adopted methods of ensuring safe production is through the regular use of cleanrooms for nutraceutical industry. Cleanrooms are meticulously designed to allow as few contaminants as possible into the production atmosphere, minimizing, if not outright eliminating, the chance of bacteria, outside chemicals, and other various contaminants seeping into the production process. Read on through this article to find out why cleanrooms are the best choice for proper nutraceutical production, and how they operate and ensure a pure and safe final product.
A Sanitized Production Atmosphere
Cleanrooms for vitamin production are equipped with specialized air filtration apparatuses that reliably provide extremely clean air for the production environment. Depending on the grade of filtration your nutraceuticals will call for, cleanrooms can filter particles as small as 0.3 microns in size, as well as 99.7% of foreign particles — including dust, mold, pollen, etc. — from the air before it enters the room.
These specialized apparatuses utilize HEPA filters, or high efficiency particulate air filters. HEPA filters are the standard across dozens of industries for their exceptional filtration capabilities and energy efficiency, the nutraceuticals industry being included among them. A cleanroom equipped with a HEPA filter help provide an environment free of contaminants which can make those who take your supplements ill.
Protected Workers for a Safer Environment
Just as the air within a cleanroom for dietary supplement production is sterile, so are the people working within it. People working inside cleanrooms are to be held to the same standards of cleanliness as the rest of the cleanroom’s elements. To that end, employees are dressed in a sterile, often full-body suit so as to prevent any hair, dead skin, etc. from reaching the atmosphere or surfaces of the room. Additionally, employees are thoroughly trained on the best practices of operating inside of a cleanroom, and are taught, for instance, how to properly prepare oneself for entering the cleanroom, or how to properly clean a surface within its walls.
Employees should also be outfitted with respirators, so as to not breathe contaminants into the room, and clean off their cleanroom suits before and after performing their work in the cleanroom. With these measures in place, among others, workers within your cleanroom will effectively isolate themselves from the room while still working within it, and effectively keep contaminants away from the production area at all times.
Sterile Surfaces for Sterile Products
In an everyday room, tables and floors are some of the most dirty surfaces around. They’re magnets for dirt, dust, germs and the like, and they can pose a real danger when producing a medicine-grade product like nutraceuticals. Cleanrooms, however, solve this problem.
These surfaces will be much more clean by default, just by virtue of being housed within a cleanroom. Tables, for example, will not get dusty when no dust is circulating through the room to begin with, and floors will not get dirty when your employees take the time to properly suit up and sanitize their suits.
However, accidents are inevitable in supplement production, as is the case with all industries. In the event of a chemical spill, steps that need to be taken to re-achieve total sterility are much easier and quicker to perform in a cleanroom. Additionally, routine cleaning and sanitization, which will still be necessary in most cases, will be greatly aided by the nature of cleanroom furniture, which is designed with sterility in mind. The bottom line is that cleanrooms, in every aspect, are built to achieve or re-achieve sterility, from floor to ceiling.
Your Denver, CO Cleanroom Experts
Modular Cleanrooms is your go-to source for cleanroom consultancy, construction and expertise. Get in touch with us today to learn more about your next cleanroom.