Serac launches RABS for optimal aseptic filling

French filling and capping machines manufacturer Serac has launched a RABS (Restricted Access Barrier System) isolator to optimise the aseptic packaging of milk and drinks in and around sterile areas.

Serac says that the RABS isolator offers three major improvements over a standard isolator.

The RABS is not hermetically sealed: it is an air barrier produced by positive overpressure inside the enclosure that protects the sterile area. Air is continuously circulated and renewed via a vertical unidirectional speed-regulated airflow. Combining both these techniques eliminates the particles present in the enclosure and provides protection against external contamination. By avoiding containment, the continuous air circulation extends aseptic state time and provides up to 72 hours of production without the need for intermediate decontamination.

The sterile area is surrounded by barrier zones that are also subjected to unidirectional airflow, acting like an additional protective envelope between the enclo-sure and the rest of the workshop and making cleaning and maintenance operations on the machine easier, the company says.

The sterile enclosure can only be accessed in production via glove boxes that are placed at critical locations along the filling line. However, all the other points - treatment, line input and output - can be reached via external doors without users having to wear clean room clothing. The origins of this new type of RABS isolator stem from the pharmaceutical industry.