Dietary Supplement Compressed Air Testing
Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Certifications require compressed air testing for air and gas used on products. Meet your compressed air specifications with our easy-to-use AirCheck✓Kit™.
Supplement Production and
SQF Certification
Since the adoption of compressed air purity testing by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQF) in mid 2012, food manufacturers renewing their SQF certification have been required to test the compressed air they use directly and indirectly in the production process. In some cases we are finding SQF requiring compressed air testing of pneumatic exhaust that may come into contact with the product. All of this is in an effort to maintain the integrity of the food supply we all use. According to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), dietary supplements fall under the category of food for quality purposes. Supplement manufacturers requesting SQF certification and using compressed air in their production process are now required to test the purity of production compressed air and test it regularly.
Across the world, almost daily, we see contamination in the food supply that sickens people, results in recalls, and in extreme situations, halts manufacturing production. To learn more about contamination that can occur from compressed air, visit our web page on Compressor Contamination Sources. SQF and other entities developed regulations and standards in an effort to stop food contamination. According to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that dietary supplements are safe. This puts all of the responsibility on the shoulders of the supplement manufacturer.
SQF Recommended Air & Gas Testing Specifications
| ISO 8573-1:2010 COMPRESSED AIR CONTAMINANTS AND PURITY CLASSES | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLASS | PARTICLES | WATER | OIL | |||||
| By Particle Size (maximum number of particles per m3) See Note 2 |
By Mass | Vapor Pressure Dewpoint | Liquid | Liquid, Aerosol, & Vapor See Note 1 |
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| 0.1 µm < d ≤ 0.5 µm | 0.5 µ m< d ≤ 1.0 µm | 1.0 µm < d ≤ 5.0 µm | mg/m3 | °C | °F | g/m3 | mg/m3 | |
| 0 | As specified by the equipment user or supplier and more stringent than class 1 | |||||||
| 1 | ≤ 20,000 | ≤ 400 | ≤ 10 | - | ≤ -70 | ≤ -94 | - | ≤ 0.01 |
| 2 | ≤ 400,000 | ≤ 6,000 | ≤ 100 | - | ≤ -40 | ≤ -40 | - | ≤ 0.1 |
| 3 | - | ≤ 90,000 | ≤ 1,000 | - | ≤ -20 | ≤ - 4 | - | ≤ 1 |
| 4 | - | - | ≤ 10,000 | - | ≤ +3 | ≤ +37 | - | ≤ 5 |
| 5 | - | - | ≤ 100,000 | - | ≤ +7 | ≤ +45 | - | - |
| 6 | - | - | - | 0 – ≤ 5 | ≤ +10 | ≤ +50 | - | - |
| 7 | - | - | - | 5 – ≤ 10 | - | - | ≤ 0.5 | - |
| 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ≤ 5 | - |
| 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ≤ 10 | - |
| X | - | - | - | > 10 | - | - | > 10 | > 5 |
| MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS | OTHER GASEOUS CONTAMINANTS | |||||||
| No purity classes are identified | No purity classes are identified Gases mentioned are: CO, CO2, SO2, NOX, Hydrocarbons in the range of C1 to C5 |
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| Note 1: ISO 8573 Oil includes aerosol, vapor in the range of C6+, and liquid oil. Liquid oil is typically sampled when wall flow is present, contamination is suspected, or results are greater than 5 mg/m3. Trace can provide a separate kit for liquid oil testing. Note 2: For Particle Class 0, 1, & 2 (0.1 - 0.5 µ range only), a laser particle counter with a high-pressure diffuser is required. Rental of this equipment is available on a reservation basis. Contact us for details. To qualify for Particle Classes 0 through 5, there can be no particles greater than 5µ present. In some cases, Trace uses alternative sampling techniques or analytical methods to those specified in ISO 8573, for details see Smith White Paper, 2012. |
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| Air & Gas Specifications referenced above may be viewed and/or purchased from: ANSI - American National Standards Institute |
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Why Choose Trace Analytics?
Monitoring Made Easy
Trace Analytics can provide you with the necessary materials and training to obtain the air or gas sample. You return the sample(s) to our lab and we will provide the results in a report via email.
Let us know how frequently you would like to test and we will send you reminders at testing time.
Online Reports and Training
Access reports, sampling instructions, troubleshooting tips, and more all through the Trace Analytics website and AirCheck Academy. Download training documents for your records.
View the status of your report and download current and past files. Manage who has access to your records online.
Meet Your Requirements
We are happy to walk you through the process of understanding the new SQF certification requirement on compressed air testing, setting up a monitoring program and understanding the results of your analyses.
In addition we can set you up with automatic reminders to let you know when it is time to test again.
Other Testing Services for Manufacturers
Testing Made SimpleAccurateEasy
Trace Analytics’ laboratory is accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. We use state-of-the-art lab equipment that allows us to analyze hundreds of compressed air and environmental samples daily. The result is consistency, accuracy, precision, and rapid turnaround. Trace is an A2LA accredited laboratory complying with ISO 17025, certificate #0322-01.
