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Food industry - Protective clothing against chemicals
A simple recipe - People and product protection
Just because food and drinks are processed or manufactured to be consumed, the industry cannot be perceived as low risk in terms of employee health and safety.
Trusted and reliable people protection
During the cleaning or maintenance of production machinery, employees may be exposed to disinfectants. According to the HSE (Health & Safety Executive, UK) Food Information Sheet 29, disinfectants commonly used in food and drink industries include : surface active agents, alcohols, aldehydes, peracetic acid and hypochlorite.
The DuPont TYVEK® and TYCHEM® protective clothing have been tested against a broad range of chemicals. TYVEK® offers protection against low concentrated inorganic chemicals, TYCHEM® C is recommended for protection against concentrated inorganic chemicals, and TYCHEM® F is recommended against organic and highly concentrated inorganic chemicals.
As well as working with disinfectants or cleaning agents, some working duties may cause employees to be exposed to biological agents. Examples of biological hazards (source : The German Committee for Biological Agents) are :
- Salmonella bacteria. These can occur in slaughtering or meat processing applications, in the handling of dairy products, nuts, fish or when processing vegetables that are grown with organic fertilizers.
- Hepatitis A virus. This is a potential hazard when handling mussels, oysters, shell-fish or salads that are produced using organic fertilizers.
However, biological agents can also be purposely added during food processing, for example during the production of various dairy products.
TYVEK® and TYCHEM® protective clothing has been tested according to EN 14126.
For protection against biological hazards, DuPont recommends : view this table
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Food quality and shelf life
Product contamination not only has a major impact on food quality and shelf life, it has a consequence on image and costs. That’s why DuPont is many people’s first choice for limited-use protective garments worn by operational personnel and visitors. In the food processing industry, contamination and infection risks to the product stemming from people employed in the manufacturing process are very high. Even the notorious “hair in the soup” is undoubtedly sufficient grounds for complaint !
Particle creation by people movements
| Type of movement | Particle / min. (> 0.5 µm) |
| Sitting without moving | 100.000 |
| Moving hands, arms, head | 500.000 |
| Active hand/arm movement, fast turning of the head | 1.000.000 |
| Standing up from a sitting position or vice versa | 2.500.000 |
| Rapid movement, climbing stairs etc. | 110.000.000 |
Every individual constantly sheds particles in their environment, which include particles of skin, dandruff, hair and droplets of fluid, which, as carriers of viruses, bacteria and germs, can then lead to health risks. Spores are particularly able to adapt to what are otherwise completely hostile conditions, and with improved ambient conditions, continue their lifecycles.
TYVEK® and TYCHEM® garmetns are designed to help prevent contamination from dust particles, bacteria, spores and parasites carried on normal clothes or the human body.
Selection of appropriate protective clothing
NB. To aid selection of the appropriate protective clothing, you will need a detailed assessment of the nature of hazard and the working environment. Factors such as concentration, temperature, pressure and other environmental influences significantly impact the barrier of protective clothing.
For further information or assistance in selecting protective clothing, please feel free to contact us.
Following garments could be used for this application* :
TYVEK® Classic Plus, model CHA5, Type 4B, 5, 6.
TYCHEM® C Standard with socks, model CHA6, Type 3B, 4, 5, 6.
TYCHEM® F Standard with socks, model CHA6, Type 3B, 4, 5, 6.
TYCHEM® C2, model CHZ5 , Type 3B, 4, 5, 6
TYCHEM® F2, model CHZ5 , Type 3B, 4, 5, 6
For detailed technical information please contact us.
*Whether a TYCHEM® / TYVEK® protective garment would be suitable for the specific conditions of an application can only be determined by the enduser himself.
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Garment selection questionnaire