Manufacturers could face huge bills once the British Retail Consortium (BRC) endorses a little-anticipated Code of Practice, being published this month, introducing limits on oil contamination of products made in environments using compressed air systems.
Until now there have been no controls or legislation governing contamination by compressed air. Now, because of retailer power, the code - developed by the British Compressed Air Society with the BRC - is set to become a de facto standard.
Manufacturers will be forced to audit their existing systems, including monitoring and recording air quality, as part of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) procedures. Costs will inevitably rise.
BRC's head of technical services Kevin Swoffer said: "We support any industry code of practice that would improve food safety."
The code will cover: air in direct contact with food; air in indirect contact, in critical areas; and air in indirect contact, in non-critical areas. In all cases, there will have to be less than 0.01mg/m3 (0.012ppm) of oil present - and no mineral oil at all. Water content and microbiological and solids contamination levels will also be specified.
"We anticipate that it will be quite rigidly enforced," said Matt Croucher, senior product marketing engineer with leading compressor manufacturer Atlas Copco, which has trained its sales and support service staff in preparation for an expected avalanche of inquiries.
"For some companies this will hit them like a bolt out of the blue. It is a totally alien concept to most of the industry - even in a lot of blue chip companies. Its reception is not going to be good. Small companies will throw their hands up in horror."
Oil-cooled, lubricated compressed air systems account for 70% of all those used in food manufacturing, from production through to packaging, Croucher estimated, but those with oil removal filters are unlikely to satisfy the code. Such systems can result in severe contamination when filters fail or when the ambient temperature increases.
The code will ultimately force manufacturers to replace all oil-cooled systems - which have a life of five to 10 years - with oil-free systems. Meanwhile, they will have to install costly point-of-use filtration systems to remove oil from contaminated pipework.
Croucher added that, in advance of European Union legislation outlawing mineral oils, expected within a couple of years, the code would stipulate food-grade oil only if a lubricated compressor is used.