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Bacterial contamination is a common problem that fermentation facilities face. These facilities can include breweries, wineries, pharmaceutical companies, and dairy plants, and they all know that the effects of contamination are very real and very costly.
Bacterial contamination, or microbial contamination, is the “non-intended or accidental introduction of microbes such as bacteria, yeast, mold, fungi, virus, prions, protozoa or their toxins and by-products (1).”
For breweries and wineries, some of the microorganisms that cause spoilage of their product include Enterobacteriaceae, Pectinatus, Megasphaera, Zymomonas, and Brettanomyces (2). Such contamination results in wasted batches and recalls. Every year, there are dozens of pharmaceutical recalls due to microbial contamination (3). Recalls are a worst-case scenario for these companies as they are costly, hurt the company’s image, and can be harmful to consumers’ health.
Fermentation companies combat this problem by sterilizing tanks and using detergent cleaners (4); but what if the air used in the aerobic fermentation process is not sterile? What if the continuous air supply being pumped into the tanks containing the batches are carrying bacteria and mold? The previous “fix” has been compressed air systems that utilize membrane filtration (5). However, compressed air systems come with downfalls — high start-up costs, frequent process shutdowns, intensive costs & labor to replace the membrane filters. Moreover, these filters cannot guarantee all pathogen filtration.
SteriSpace’s unique solution is to offer fermentation facilities a SteriSpace unit or units (depending on the flow volumes required) to replace air compressors. Our SteriSpace unit will disinfect incoming air as well as heat it (can be cooled if required) for the aerobic fermentation process. No other system is offering this capability as other air compressors are just filtering the air, which is not as effective as SteriSpace’s proprietary process of reducing all airborne biological pathogens in the airstream by more than 99.9999%. SteriSpace is more effective and has less upkeep.
Contact us for more details on how SteriSpace can help enhance your fermentation facility.
