Case Study · Food & Beverage · Pakistan

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When Air Quality Is a Product Safety Issue

For food and beverage manufacturers, compressed air that contacts product or packaging is a regulatory and reputational risk — not just an energy variable. This audit identified both: significant energy savings and contamination risks that the existing maintenance programme had not detected.

Audit Outcome

Product Safety Risk
Oil carry-over identified at product-contact lines
Energy Savings Identified
PKR 4.2M+ per year
Air Quality Baseline
ISO 8573-1 classification established for each zone
Drying System
Over-specification identified — right-sized solution saves capex

The Context: Why Compressed Air Quality Matters in Food Production

In food and beverage manufacturing, compressed air is present throughout the production process — blowing dust from bottles before filling, conveying product, operating pneumatic valves, and in some cases directly contacting product in filling or mixing operations. The air quality requirements for each application vary, but the consequence of getting it wrong is not just an energy cost. It is a potential contamination event.

Most food manufacturers running oil-lubricated compressors have some form of filtration in place. What routine maintenance typically does not assess is whether that filtration is performing to specification under actual operating conditions, whether it is appropriately specified for the application downstream, and whether the distribution system introduces contamination between the treatment point and the point of use.

This audit was commissioned following a routine audit cycle review. There was no product quality incident — the decision to audit was proactive. What the audit found was a contamination risk that had existed undetected for several production seasons.

Product Safety Finding
Oil carry-over from an oil-lubricated compressor was detected at two product-contact air points. The coalescing filter on the relevant compressor had exceeded its rated service life and was no longer performing to its rated specification. Downstream filtration intended to catch carry-over was not specified for product-contact air quality. Neither the maintenance programme nor previous service inspections had identified this condition.

The Energy Findings

The energy profile of the compressed air system reflected a pattern common in food manufacturing: compressed air had been added incrementally over years as production lines were extended and processes modified. The result was a system that operated at a single site-wide pressure — the highest pressure required by any application on site — even though many applications ran acceptably at significantly lower pressure.

Finding	Current State	Target State	Priority
Site-wide operating pressure	8.5 bar — set to highest application requirement	Zone-specific pressure with point reducers	High
Dryer specification	Refrigerant dryer — over-specified for ambient conditions	Right-sized for actual dew point requirement	Medium
Leakage rate	~19% of production	< 10%	High
Off-load running	No cascade control — all compressors run together	Lead/lag with timer unload	High
Compressor inlet temperature	32°C — poor room ventilation	20–25°C with dedicated ventilation	Medium
ISO 8573-1 air quality class — product contact	Unverified — no documentation	Class 1.2.1 minimum (food grade)	Immediate

The Pressure Optimisation Opportunity
The facility was running its entire compressed air system at 8.5 bar because one application on one production line required it. Every other application — the majority of the site — was running at pressure 2–3 bar above what it needed. For every 1 bar of pressure reduction, energy consumption falls by approximately 7%. Pressure zone management with point-of-use reducers would have paid back within six months.

What ISO 8573-1 Means for Food Manufacturers

ISO 8573-1 is the international standard for compressed air quality classification — it defines the maximum permissible levels of particles, water, and oil in compressed air, and assigns quality classes from Class 0 (the most stringent) to Class X (unclassified). For food and beverage production, regulatory guidance and major retailer codes of practice typically require product-contact air to meet Class 1 or Class 2 for oil content.

The audit established an ISO 8573-1 baseline for every compressed air application zone in the facility — the first time this had been formally documented. The exercise identified which applications required treatment upgrades, which were already compliant, and which required no action. Rather than upgrading the entire system to the most stringent specification (a common and expensive overcorrection), the zoned approach allowed the facility to invest precisely where the risk was real.

For food manufacturers supplying major retail chains — which increasingly require documented air quality management as part of supplier audits — the ISO 8573-1 baseline documentation produced by the audit is a compliance asset in its own right.

ESG and Supply Chain Implications

The energy savings identified — PKR 4.2 million per year and above — translate directly into Scope 2 greenhouse gas emission reductions. For a food and beverage manufacturer supplying export markets or European retail chains, this is increasingly a reportable figure. The audit produced a savings calculation in both energy (kWh) and carbon (tonnes CO₂ equivalent) that can be included in sustainability reports and supply chain questionnaires without further derivation.

The audit also demonstrated to the client’s export compliance team that the compressed air system met product safety requirements — an increasingly common due diligence requirement from EU food safety regulators for imported processed food products.

Final Outcome

The product safety risk identified — oil carry-over at product-contact points — was remediated within four weeks of the audit report delivery. The energy programme was implemented in three phases over twelve months, with the highest-return interventions (off-load control, pressure optimisation, and leak repair) prioritised first. The ISO 8573-1 documentation was included in the facility’s next buyer audit submission.

The annual energy savings verified at end of Year 1 were PKR 4.2 million, consistent with the audit’s projections. The contamination risk, which carried no measurable cost until a product quality event occurred, was addressed before any customer impact.

Audit Scope

Table Header
Sector	Food & Beverage Mfg.
Standard	ISO 11011 + ISO 8573-1
Trigger	Proactive / scheduled
Zones Assessed	Full facility

Key Findings

Table Header
Oil Carry-Over	Detected at product contact
System Pressure	8.5 bar (optimisable)
Leakage Rate	~19% of production
Air Quality Docs	None (pre-audit)

Outcomes

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Energy Savings/yr	PKR 4.2M+
Product Risk	Remediated
ISO 8573-1 Baseline	Established
Buyer Audit Ready	Yes

Food or pharma manufacturer?

ISO 8573-1 air quality documentation is increasingly required by retail buyers and export regulators. We establish the baseline and identify the remediation.

Is Your Compressed Air Fit for Food Production?

ISO 8573-1 compliance is not just a regulatory checkbox. It is protection against product recalls, retailer delistings, and contamination events that are entirely preventable.