The new upgrades have been introduced to further improve the user experience of Valairdata 3, which has been developed to provide filter integrity testing in situ, enabling operators in the dairy industry to quickly identify any filter failures with minimal disruption to aseptic process operations.
The upgrades include the addition of a 'concise' mode to enable quicker navigation through test functions and an intelligent purge function to reduce purge times as required between filter tests.
Valairdata 3 performs an aerosol challenge of the test filters, which the company said is a more accurate method of testing larger systems than liquid-based tests as it can measure the actual retention efficiency of the filter systems.
Results transferrable
In addition, by using a dry gas process, there is no requirement to flush or dry the test filter, which means that it can be returned to the process immediately after testing, and the test is quicker than liquid-based tests and no stabilization times are required.
The Valairdata 3 aerosol challenge is fully correlated to aerosolized bacterial and viral challenges, and test details are securely stored within the unit. Once testing is complete, the results can be transferred from the unit via a USB data stick for tracking, storage and transfer of test data.
Valairdata also has a lightweight, portable design and long-life battery for everyday use in the dairy industry.
Daniel Vecsey, market development manager - food & beverage processing at Parker Bioscience, said, “In the dairy industry, sterilizing grade gas filters should be checked by routine integrity testing as part of an operator’s Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan and Valairdata 3 provides an accurate, quick and user-friendly method of achieving this.
“Dairy processes are fast paced production environments driven by efficient operations: the latest software upgrades to Valairdata 3 reflect Parker Bioscience’s commitment to continually improving and enhancing the user experience and they demonstrate our ability to meet the changing needs of the dairy industry.”
Parker Bioscience, a division of Parker Hannifin, with operations in Oxnard, California and Birtley, UK, offers a range of sterile gas filters for all stages of the production and packaging process and provides products used in aseptic packaging, dairy tank vent filtration, dairy product purge operations and sanitary separations.