Gas monitoring instruments and systems for flavoring agents - Health and Safety - Health and Safety Monitoring and Testing
Manufacturing of powdered and liquid flavorings and fragrances involves production phases where flavoring chemicals may be released into the ambient air breathed by workers. Exposure control by gas analyzers in the production rooms and laboratories is necessary to ensure that the Time-Weighted Average (TWA) concentrations do not exceed the maximum Permissible Emission Limit (PEL) values.
Overview Applications & Industries Served
The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has suggested that diacetyl, when used in artificial butter flavoring (as used in many consumer foods), may be hazardous when evaporated chemical is inhaled over a long period. Exposure could lead to an increase in the occurrence of fixed obstructive lung disease. Gasmet™ Multicomponent FTIR Gas Analyzers have been used to detect and quantify diacetyl together with acetoin, another butter-flavor additive in foodstuffs, as well as organic acids, aldehydes, and ketones.
Gasmet™ DX4040 FTIR Gas Analyzer is a powerful tool for investigating the real-time and TWA concentrations of acetoin and other volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) in the ambient air. Real-time analysis of up to 25 gases simultaneously can be done measure the critical components with lowest PEL’s in the presence of other, less harmful volatile organic compounds. The large dynamic range of FTIR measurement also allows measurement of chemical concentrations inside the ventilated bench hoods and work stations in order to determine the ventilation efficiency.
The battery-powered portable FTIR analyzer combined with Calcmet™ Lite measurement and analysis software on a handheld PDA computer offers a unique combination of analytical power and flexibility. The on-board library of 25 gases may be modified by using a laptop computer and optional Calcmet software. The Calcmet software can also be used to re-analyze the original measurement results if necessary, for example to detect the presence of additional unknown gases from the recorded FTIR spectra. The instrument is able to quantify the prescribed gases with high accuracy (2% of range), has a short start-up time and can be used while moving. These factors minimize the time required to carry out measurements even in a large production facility.