Clean room food processing systems and structures

In a food processing facility having multiple food slicing devices and multiple downstream packaging machines usable for processing high volumes of ready-to-eat food products, the improvements comprising:

• multiple individual single-line food processing rooms, each of said food slicing devices being separately housed in a food processing room comprising a single line of series-connected food processing elements including at least one said food slicing device and at least one food packaging device, said single-line food processing rooms each being atmospherically and structurally isolated from each other to effectively prevent any contamination occurring in any one such single-line food processing room or series-connected food processing element therein from contaminating food products processed in any other of said single-line food processing rooms or series-connected food processing elements therein;
• at least one delivery area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having a first passage from a said delivery area;
• and
• a semi-secure region that includes at least some of a holding area, a treatment area, and a buffer area;
• and
• a packaged food receiving area, each of the plurality of food processing rooms having a second passage to a said packaged food receiving area;
• wherein:
• the delivery area and the plurality of single-line food processing rooms each comprise secure areas and are each at least at a first sanitary level of cleanliness, the single-line food processing rooms each being at a substantially sterile level of cleanliness sufficient to substantially prevent the presence and growth of Listeria, Salmonella and other pathogenic microorganisms;
• the semi-secure region comprises an at least semi-secure area and is maintained at a level of cleanliness that may be less than the first level of cleanliness but will prevent contamination of previously processed food products within the semi-secure area, and of hermetically sealed food packages conveyed and/or handled within the semi-secure area, and of personnel, clean uniforms, cleaning supplies and equipment located within and passing through such semi-secure area;
• the packaged food receiving area comprises an additional at least semi-secure area that is maintained at a level of cleanliness that can be less than the level of cleanliness of the semi-secure region but will prevent contamination of hermetically sealed food packages received, conveyed and/or handled within the additional at least semi-secure area;
• and whereby each such single-line processing room comprises a separate food processing facility.

A food processing facility usable to process food products under structured conditions in an environment having a low risk for contamination, comprising:

• a plurality of single line food processing rooms, each food processing room comprising a structurally defined secure area to facilitate maintenance of a substantially sterile level of cleanliness under food processing conditions which prevents the presence and growth of Listeria, Salmonella and other pathogenic microorganisms, each food processing room housing a single line of series-connected food processing elements including at least one food processing device and at least one food packaging device, the plurality of secure area single-line food processing rooms each being individually atmospherically and structurally isolated from each other and from any other semi-secure or less than semi-secure areas within the food processing facility to prevent any contamination occurring in any one such food processing room or series-connected food processing element therein from contaminating food products processed in any other of such plurality of food processing rooms or series connected food processing elements therein or products or equipment located in any other proximate areas within the food processing facility;
• at least one structurally defined delivery area, each delivery area being substantially separated from the interior of a least one of the plurality of the food processing rooms by at least one first wall of each of the some food processing rooms, and wherein each delivery area is structurally defined to facilitate maintenance of a level of cleanliness therein that can be below the substantially sterile level of cleanliness of the food processing rooms but will substantially prevent contamination of previously processed food products conveyed through the delivery area;
• at least one structurally defined semi-secure packaged food receiving area, each food receiving area being substantially separated from the interiors of at least one of the food processing rooms by at least one second wall of each of the at least one of the food processing rooms, and wherein each packaged food receiving area is structurally defined to be physically separated from any food processing areas and to facilitate maintenance of a level of cleanliness which can be below the level of cleanliness of the delivery area but will prevent contamination of hermetically sealed food packages received, handled and received within the packaged food delivery area;
• a first passage extending from a said delivery area into each of the plurality of secure food processing rooms through a first wall of each such food processing room, and a second passage extending from each of the plurality of secure food processing rooms through at least a second wall of each such food processing room to a said packaged food receiving area, whereby the single line of series connected food processing and food packaging elements within each food processing room can receive unencased and sanitized food logs for further processing from the delivery area through the first passage in the first wall and can discharge packaged and sealed food products to the packaged food receiving area through the second passage in the second wall;
• an air handling system, comprising:
• at least one plenum connected to at least some of the plurality of food processing rooms:
• at least one bacterial-grade filter connected between the plenum and a food processing room from the at least some of the plurality of food processing rooms;
• and
• a plurality of separate ventilation and cooling subsystems, each ventilation and cooling subsystem connected to a different one of the at least some food processing rooms, each ventilation and cooling subsystem drawing air from that connected food processing room, chilling the withdrawn air and returning the chilled air to that connected food processing room.