Food industry

Invisible dust. Real risk. Food industry under pressure

Many processes in the food industry release significant amounts of respirable dust. Unlike visible contaminants, dust in the food industry is often fine, light, and easily spread. Dust exposure therefore often goes unnoticed unless it is specifically monitored.

Typical dust fractions in food production are:

PM10: Mainly generated during low-energy mechanical activities such as bag filling, bulk material unloading, screening, and manual handling of dry powders.

PM4: Released during high-speed mixing and dosing processes, pneumatic conveying, and mechanical abrasion, with higher energy inputs and air flows producing finer particles.

PM2.5: Forms during fine grinding, intensive mixing processes, high-speed conveying, and secondary dust swirling, especially in powders with low binding strength.

PM1: Generated during spray and thermal drying processes, during atomization, by fermentation-related aerosols, and when handling enzyme preparations and highly dispersed additives.

How can food dust become a serious health risk in industrial environments?

Deep penetration into the lungs

respirable dust from food production penetrates deep into the lungs, reaching the alveoli, where the particles can accumulate over long periods of time and cause chronic damage to the respiratory tract. Long-term occupational exposure can lead to asthma, irreversible sensitization, and permanent loss of lung function, with significant health consequences.

Inflammatory reactions

Organic dusts often contain allergens, enzymes, and microbial components that trigger chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract and immune reactions. For bakery workers, the first symptoms and signs of lung irritation often only appear after several years, in some cases only after around eight years of continuous exposure.

Allergic sensitization and asthma

In the food industry, organic dust, especially flour dust, is a known respiratory sensitizer and one of the most common causes of occupational asthma. In the United Kingdom, for example, around 33% of compensation cases in the food industry are related to occupational asthma, with flour dust and enzymes being among the main triggers.

Long-term health effects

Workplace exposure limits for flour dust are set at 10 mg/m³ (8-hour average) in many regulations. However, health problems such as asthma and reduced lung function have also been observed at lower concentrations. Chronic exposure to fine dust is also associated with systemic inflammatory reactions and increased cardiovascular stress.

Real-time monitoring of respirable dust to protect each worker

Dustlight provides a practical solution for managing respirable dust exposure in food production by combining portable, continuous dust measurement with centralized data analysis. Worn directly on the body, Dustlight continuously records fine PM fractions and uses them to derive the respirable dust exposure in real time. By continuously recording exposure values and short-term exposure peaks, Dustlight provides immediate warnings when respirable dust concentrations rise. At the same time, the recorded data enables safety officers to identify critical activities, assess compliance with occupational exposure limits, and implement targeted preventive measures. The device and software create transparency and thus support the proactive protection of each individual worker.

The wearable continuously measures dust directly in the breathing zone of employees and displays the current respirable dust exposure in real time. Visual and acoustic warning signals immediately inform when defined exposure thresholds are exceeded.

Mobile and web apps collect, visualize, and analyze Dustlight dust data both in real time and over longer periods. Among other things, the software evaluatesTWA,STEL, and other parameters to provide sound support for risk assessments, compliance evaluations, and preventive measures.