A blend of gases -- carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen -- help preserve packaged food by reducing the amount of oxygen inside the sealed package. Gas flushing or Modified Atmosphere Packaging, as the process is called, also reduces the amount of processing that food must undergo. This preserves the quality and nutrient content of meats, vegetables, and other foods.

Estimates suggest that 25-40 percent of fresh food does not reach consumers due to spoilage in transit. Modified Atmosphere Packaging enables fresh food to stay fresh by slowing down the food spoilage process, reduces food waste, and allows consumers to store purchased foods for longer. 

Without Modified Atmosphere Packaging, oxygen levels inside food packages would be 20.9 percent. By introducing nitrogen into the package, facilities strive to lower oxygen levels, sometimes as far as zero. With no oxygen inside the package, bacteria will be unable to grow and the food will not oxidize. Carbon dioxide also inhibits bacteria growth and lowers the pH of preserved food. Carbon monoxide is often used in meat packaging, as it can preserve the red color. Packing plants use either low-barrier, breathable film that allows fruits and vegetables to breathe, or high-barrier film that prevents gas inside packaged meat, fish, or cheese from seeping out. 

As oxygen is flushed out of the package, the blend of nitrogen and carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide is piped in and the package is sealed, trapping the inert gases inside.

While the process of Modified Atmosphere Packaging revolutionized food packing, it isn't without risk. Nitrogen gas, a critical component of the gas flushing blend, has the potential to create an oxygen deficient environment if a leak occurs. As nitrogen leaks, it physically displaces oxygen, often in a matter of minutes. As employees breathe air that does not have enough oxygen, they may become tired and confused or experience difficulty breathing. Within minutes, employees could die from asphyxiation as a result of breathing oxygen-deficient air. 

Since nitrogen gas has no color or odor, secondary measures must be used to detect a leak before staff experience life-threatening symptoms. One simple and cost-effective way to monitor the food packing facility for leaks is by using an oxygen monitor. 

How an Oxygen Monitor Protects Workers in Food Packing Plants

While it's critical to maintain the right blend of gas in packaged foods, it's also important to ensure that gas used in food packing equipment does not leak out of the machines. Gases used in food packing, including nitrogen, are colorless and odorless, so staff would be unable to detect a leak visually. By installing an oxygen monitor in the food packing facility, employers can detect leaks before workers' health is adversely affected. 

Since nitrogen gas depletes oxygen, it's easy to tell whether nitrogen isleaking by taking continual measures of oxygen. The secure, wall-mounted oxygen monitor checks the levels of oxygen in the room and remains silent as long as oxygen is above the minimum amount. 
​
The oxygen monitor will sound an alarm if oxygen falls to 19.5% or 18.0%. The 90 db alarm is designed to be heard over the sound of the equipment, and there's also a flashing light to warn employees of a drop in oxygen levels. Employees can then leave the room before the oxygen falls below the acceptable threshold and staff begin to experience health problems. 
In addition to using oxygen monitors on the food packing line, facilities should also use oxygen monitors wherever inert gases are stored. Oxygen deficiency monitors from PureAire are designed to last for a minimum of 10 years with no maintenance or annual calibration. The monitors feature a digital display that's easy to read, and do not drift as a result of barometric pressure. If you're looking for an oxygen monitor that's low maintenance, accurate, and easy to use, consider PureAire. Visit www.pureairemonitoring.com to learn more.
​
Keywords:
carbon dioxide,
oxygen monitor,
oxygen,
nitrogen,
Food manufacturing,
Food processing,
Food packing facility,
Food preserves,
Food packaging,
PureAire,
PureAire monitoring systems

For businesses that work with inert gases or hazardous materials, glove boxes are essential. They allow employees to safely work with sensitive or hazardous materials without compromising either the material or their safety. While glove boxes are an effective solution to handling inert and hazardous materials, they are not failsafe. To ensure there are no leaks in the glove box, it's critical to pair a glove box with an oxygen monitor. 
How a Glove Box Works 

A glove box, sometimes known as a dry box, is a large box with at least one window and two ports. The ports allow workers wearing arm-length gloves to place their hands inside the inert environment, where they can work with hazardous materials or inert gases, such as argon or nitrogen. 

The interior of the glove box is filled with an inert gas -- usually nitrogen, although it could be argon or helium if the materials used inside the box react with nitrogen. While the glove box environment is intended to be closed, small amounts of oxygen can seep through the glove ports. Thus, it's essential that the glove box be purged nightly. 

There's an antechamber on one side of the glove box. This allows you to place materials in the chamber, then open the interior door and bring them into the glove box environment. To prevent the insert gas inside from seeping out through the antechamber, you must never have both the interior and exterior door open at the same time. 

Inert gases, such as nitrogen and argon, displace oxygen. If these gases were to leak into the air via the antechamber doors or through a hole in a defective glove box, it would push oxygen out of the room. Oxygen levels would begin to drop, eventually falling below the OSHA threshold. 

When oxygen levels drop below the OSHA threshold, it can cause respiratory and cognitive problems, as well as death via asphyxiation. To protect employee safety in a glove box environment, it's critical to use oxygen monitors onsite. 

How an Oxygen Monitor Protects Your Workers 
While your staff might see the antechamber doors open and understand that a leak has occurred, most leaks are undetectable until it is too late. 
Inert gases have no color or odor, so there is no way for someone working onsite to know at a glance or sniff there's been a leak. Meanwhile, the air in the room would slowly lose oxygen, eventually leading to an oxygen deficient environment that places your employees at risk of death by asphyxiation. 

A wall-mounted oxygen monitor samples room air 24/7. The monitor remains silent if there's sufficient air in the room. If there is a leak of nitrogen, for example, and oxygen levels fall, the monitor will sound an alarm and flash lights, so workers can see and hear there is a problem. 
Your employees will be able to leave the room before suffering adverse health effects. Staff will also be able to complete shifts with less stress when they know the environment is safe, because they trust the oxygen monitor is working properly. 
​
PureAire's oxygen monitors feature long-lasting zirconium sensors. Once installed, these oxygen monitors measure the oxygen in the air for 10 or more years, without needing annual calibration or maintenance. The monitors are unaffected by sudden shifts in barometric pressure or thunderstorms. The digital display provides legible, updated oxygen readings so employees can check ambient oxygen levels. PureAire's oxygen monitors can be used in confined spaces and in temperature extremes as low as -40 Celsius. All PureAire oxygen monitors come with a three year warranty for your protection. Review specifications or learn more about oxygen monitors from PureAire by visiting www.pureairemonitoring.com
 
glove box, inert, nitrogen, argon, oxygen monitor, helium, inert gas, o2 deficiency monitor
 

A -150 C freezer, also known as a nitrogen freezer, is used in cryo preservation. While you might think of Ted Williams being frozen on ice for a future in which he can be brought back to life, the cryo preservation method can be used to keep any type of cell alive in a suspended state. Learn how nitrogen freezers are used and how PureAire can keep your facility safe. 

Who Uses Nitrogen Freezers? 

Nitrogen freezers use liquid nitrogen to freeze biological material in extremely cold temperatures. While they are known as -150 C freezers, they actually run closer to -200 C. When living cells are stored at such low temperatures, they go to sleep rather than die. Decades or even centuries later, the frozen cells can be safely thawed with no loss of life or degradation of DNA due to their long storage. 

Compared with other methods of cryo preserving materials, a liquid nitrogen freezer offers the most stable freezing environment using ultra-low temperatures. An electric freezer is incapable of maintaining temperatures below -135 C.  

Environmental researchers are interested in cryo preservation to preserve the last stock of endangered species. Rather than lose, say, the critically endangered black rhino species, the rhino's cells can be cryogenically frozen for the future. Coral reefs are also considered desirable candidates for cryo preservation due to their high rates of die-off from ocean acidity. 

Animal breeders are interested in cryo preservation to keep a desired bloodline alive, and fertility specialists see the potential for helping women delay childbirth through cryogenic preservation of fertilized embryos or eggs. 

The cryo preservation industry is not without its challenges. To ensure the viability of the frozen material, the cells must be slowly brought to the -150 C temperature and thawed in the same manner. If the temperature drops too quickly per minute, the cell membrane could rupture, causing cell death. 

Any time liquid nitrogen is used, there is a risk of oxygen displacement should the nitrogen storage tank leak or spill. Nitrogen gas has no color or odor, so employees would not notice that a leak had occurred. 

As nitrogen leaks into the atmosphere, it displaces oxygen. Levels can fall so low that the ambient air will not have enough oxygen for safe respiration. In an oxygen deficient environment, workers can experience respiratory distress, cognitive deficiencies, and death via asphyxiation simply by taking a few breaths in an oxygen deficient environment. 

Any facility that relies on nitrogen freezers to preserve biological material must take safeguards to detect and mitigate nitrogen leaks. One simple, effective solution is an oxygen monitor, such as that offered by PureAire. 

How PureAire Can Help 

An oxygen monitor measures the levels of oxygen in the room. As long as there is enough oxygen, the monitor remains silent yet alert. If a spill occurs and levels fall close to the OSHA threshold, the alarm flashes a light and sounds an alarm to notify all personnel there is a leak. Employees can then leave the room before they are harmed by the oxygen deficient air. 
​
PureAire's oxygen monitor features a robust zirconium sensor, which can take accurate reading without maintenance for 10 or more years. The monitor provides steady readings when barometric pressure changes or thunderstorms occur. The O2 monitor functions accurately in temperature extremes, and is suitable for use in cryogenic facilities and freezers.
If you're interested in a reliable oxygen monitor that's accurate, cost-effective, and fuss-free, you may want to partner with PureAire. Learn more at www.pureairemonitoring.com.
 
Keywords: 
Nitrogen
cryo preservation
Oxygen monitor
oxygen displacement 
Oxygen deficiency monitor
Nitrogen freezer
Cryogenic
Cryogenic facility
osha