Flexible cleanroom technology ensures safety during yogurt filling

The mobile cleanroom tent CleanFlowCell® of ISO 7 cleanroom class has been adapted to the size of the yogurt filling machine. The laminar flow system purifies the air from yeasts and mold bacteria, ensuring impeccable quality and longer shelf life of the organic yogurt.

Regional foods are highly valued by consumers. The Regio Dairy of the Basel Region AG, which belongs to the Emmi Group, processes exclusively milk from local farmers. To achieve optimal quality and long shelf life when filling smaller batches, the dairy processing plant relies on cleanroom technology for filling regional organic yogurts.

The Regio Dairy of the Basel Region AG processes four to five million kilograms of milk annually, supplied by around 40 farms from the Basel region. After the company filed for bankruptcy and had to cease operations in 2010, it was taken over by Emmi, saving the regional dairy from closure. Preserving the regional concept has always been a core goal in the company's continuation: short transportation routes and strengthening local agriculture are highly appreciated by end consumers. As a result, Migros Basel and Coop have successfully incorporated regional dairy products, including a Basel-area cheese, into their product ranges. Emmi acts as a background brand here, providing the financial foundation and extensive experience for a successful establishment of the location. The top priority was ensuring first-class product quality. As in the entire Emmi Group, there are no compromises here. To guarantee product safety and longer shelf life of the organic yogurt without the use of preservatives, the dairy has now invested in a cleanroom technical system.

During yogurt filling, the "Kesseli" filling machine is enclosed with a laminar flow enclosure of ISO Class 7 cleanroom standards. The enclosure of the CleanFlowCell® brand was supplied by SCHILLING ENGINEERING and specifically tailored to the filling process. Martin Ineichen, the plant manager of the Regio Dairy, explains the advantage of the cleanroom technology used during the filling of the organic Nature yogurt:

"The laminar flow purifies the air during filling from yeasts and mold bacteria, allowing us to guarantee the impeccable quality of the yogurt. The shelf life of the product is significantly extended by this process."

The 4 sqm cleanroom tent consists of an aluminum support frame structure, with two laminar flow units equipped with ULPA high-performance filters in the ceiling to ensure the required air purity. The system is enclosed with transparent PVC foil curtains, which can be securely and quickly mounted with Velcro fasteners.

In addition to the flawless filter technology, which is checked before each filling process with a particle measuring device, what particularly impressed the certified milk technologist Ineichen was the flexibility of the CleanFlowCell® system:

"We fill the organic Nature yogurt only once a week into an 850-gram kettle. The filling system is mobile so that it does not take up unnecessary space. For this, we looked for a suitable laminar flow enclosure that supports this flexible use. The cleanroom tent from SCHILLING ENGINEERING is equipped with wheels and was precisely adapted to our requirements in size. We can easily park it in the basement and move it into the production hall during filling times. The uncomplicated setup and removal of the filling machine also simplifies the separate cleaning of the systems. This principle helps us stay flexible and works, as promised, really flawlessly."

With cost-effective and flexible options that meet the latest standards, cleanroom technology can also be sensibly integrated into smaller operations and contributes to further enhancing safety in food production.