What determines the right ventilation approach for food processing?

Food processing facilities rarely have one ventilation requirement across the entire site. Cooking, baking and production areas can generate heat, steam and odours, while chilled rooms, packaging areas, washdown zones and loading entrances present different airflow and environmental conditions.

The best ventilation system for a food processing facility is therefore not a single type of fan. It is a system designed around what the process generates, where contaminants or moisture need to be removed, how replacement air enters the building and how air moves between different production zones.

This is particularly important in food production because ventilation also has a food-safety function. Under Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s Standard 3.2.3, food premises must have sufficient natural or mechanical ventilation to effectively remove fumes, smoke, steam and vapours.

Start with what the process is generating

Ventilation requirements should be established around the process before deciding on the fan or ventilation equipment.

A bakery operating large ovens will have different requirements from a chilled meat-processing area, packaging facility or washdown-intensive production zone. The main conditions to consider include:

• Heat from ovens, cooking equipment, motors and production machinery.
• Steam and moisture generated during cooking, washing and cleaning.
• Odours and fumes produced during processing.
• Airborne particles and contaminants generated by particular production activities.
• Temperature differences between chilled, production and external areas.
• External contaminants entering through loading bays and frequently opened doors.

FSANZ specifically identifies the nature and volume of food operations, equipment capacity, air-intake location, facility layout and maintenance as factors that can affect ventilation effectiveness. Its guidance even gives the example of a bakery where inadequate oven exhaust resulted in condensation, mould and flaking paint, requiring an exhaust hood and extraction fans.

Fanquip’s existing article on common air challenges in the food processing industry also looks more closely at temperature, humidity, steam, odours and contaminants across different food-production environments.

Determine what needs to happen to the air

Once the source is understood, the next step is determining the required airflow response.

Some processes require contaminated or moisture-laden air to be extracted close to its source. Larger production spaces may need general exhaust and replacement air, while entrances between controlled environments may require separation rather than simply more ventilation.

This is why a food-processing ventilation system can incorporate several solutions rather than relying on one fan.

Fanquip’s food processing and production ventilation range covers applications including heat and steam extraction, air circulation, filtered supply and airflow separation between processing environments.

Combine extraction, replacement air and circulation

A useful way to assess the overall system is to separate it into three functions: removing unwanted air, replacing the air that has been removed and controlling how air moves through the facility.

Extract unwanted air

Where cooking or production processes generate heat, steam, odours or airborne contaminants, extraction provides a pathway for that air to leave the facility.

Depending on the system, Fanquip’s industrial exhaust fan range can support general extraction applications, while different fan configurations may be required where air needs to travel through ductwork or overcome greater system resistance.

This is also an important WHS consideration where processes generate hazardous airborne contaminants. Safe Work Australia identifies dusts, gases, fumes, vapours and mists as airborne contaminants that may pose health and safety risks and requires these risks to be eliminated or minimised so far as reasonably practicable.

Replace extracted air

Air removed by an exhaust system must ultimately be replaced.

Without an appropriate pathway for replacement air, increasing exhaust capacity alone may not produce the intended airflow pattern. Fanquip’s Food & Meat Processing Industry Catalogue describes an approach combining exhaust fans for heat and steam removal with fresh-air introduction through supply fans, wall louvres or evaporative coolers.

Where that air enters also matters. FSANZ advises that air intakes should be located so they provide air uncontaminated by outside fumes and smoke, while ventilation layouts should avoid moving contaminated air into cleaner preparation areas.

Circulate air where required

Circulation performs a different function from extraction.

Fanquip air circulators redistribute air within a space and can support air movement across larger production areas. They do not, however, replace an extraction system where steam, contaminants or unwanted heat need to be removed from the facility.

In practice, larger facilities may use both approaches: circulation to influence air movement within the space and extraction to provide a pathway for unwanted air to leave.

Food processing conditions influence equipment selection

Food processing environments introduce requirements beyond airflow capacity. Hygiene, moisture, temperature control and airborne contaminants can all influence equipment selection.

Hygiene and washdown
Wet processing and regular washdown may require equipment with suitable materials and moisture protection. Fanquip’s food-processing range includes stainless-steel and washdown-ready ventilation equipment for these environments.

Entrances and controlled areas
Frequently opened doors can introduce warm air, insects, dust and other contaminants. An industrial air curtain creates an air barrier across an opening to help limit unwanted air entering processing or refrigerated areas.

Moisture and condensation
Cooking, cleaning and temperature differences can contribute to moisture build-up. Ventilation can remove moisture-laden air, although humidity, insulation and surface temperatures may also need consideration. Fanquip’s Condensation in industrial buildings: Causes and ventilation strategies explores this in more detail.

Airborne contaminants
Where processes generate dust, fumes or vapours, ventilation may form part of a broader control strategy. Safe Work Australia provides further guidance on managing workplace exposure to airborne contaminants.

Select the system around the process

There is no single ventilation configuration suited to every food processing facility. A bakery may require greater heat and steam extraction, while meat processing, packaging and refrigerated areas can have different requirements around moisture, hygiene, circulation and temperature control.

The selection process should therefore consider:

Process conditions → ventilation objective → airflow requirement → extraction and supply strategy → equipment selection

Poor conditions do not necessarily mean a larger fan is required. The issue may instead involve extraction location, insufficient replacement air, system resistance or airflow between production zones.

Fanquip’s food processing and production solutions include air curtains, axial flow fans, air circulators and other equipment for different processing conditions.

Ultimately, the right ventilation approach starts with what needs to be controlled and how air needs to move through the process, rather than fan capacity alone.

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