Food Manufacturing Environmental Air Quality Monitoring Programs: A Literature Review and Best Practice Recommendations

Poor air quality in food production environments can pose food safety and quality risks if not properly monitored and managed. With little regulatory guidance, it is up to manufacturers and processors to define if air will be tested, organisms to test for, how sampling will be performed and how often. There is a variety of testing equipment and methods available, and it is difficult to find an unbiased guide to help set up a new program or improve current air quality monitoring practices. This literature review investigated the availability of easy to understand guidance materials and sought to create unbiased guidance to food industry professionals seeking to understand the key components of microbiological air quality monitoring programs and some of the options currently available. Relevant research is presented to help readers understand why it is important to monitor microbiological air quality, testing equipment available, organisms to monitor for, sampling location considerations, budget and staffing considerations and more. Furthermore, the project referenced throughout this paper provides additional insight into how these best practices may be applied as food safety and quality professionals seek to create or improve the microbiological air quality portion of an environmental monitoring plan.