Is Your Plant Safe? Regulations and Risk Assessment in the Food Industry

The production of food and beverages involves processes that use, handle, or generate flammable substances in the form of dust (e.g. flour, sugar, grains) as well as gas or vapor (e.g. ethanol). Additionally, the energy required to carry out these transformations is often supplied by other flammable substances, such as natural gas or hydrogen.

Explosion risk, therefore, is constantly present, and with it comes the need to prevent explosions or mitigate their consequences. To achieve this, major international standards establish the obligation to conduct an Explosion Risk Assessment as one of the most important preventive measures. This evaluation is documented as a Dust Explosion Protection Document (DPCE) under the European ATEX Directives, or as a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA) under NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards.

What Do Regulations Really Say About Dust Explosions in the Food Industry?

A proper dust explosion risk assessment must define the necessary prevention and/or protection measures to minimize the likelihood of an accident and ensure a safe installation. To do this, the use of internationally recognized standards is essential:

European Standards (EN) derived from IEC standards, such as: EN 60079-10-1 and 10-2 (zoning classification), EN 1127-1 (ignition source evaluation), EN 14491 (explosion venting protection systems), CEN/TR 16829 (bucket elevator protection and prevention).
VDI Guidelines (German standards) like VDI 2263 for the prevention and protection of explosions in bag filters and bucket elevators.
NFPA Standards (US-based) such as: NFPA 654: for fire and explosion prevention in solids handling industries, NFPA 61: for fire and explosion protection in agricultural and food processing facilities

These standards are not optional or generic — they directly apply to common processes involving combustible dust, such as pneumatic transport, screening, grinding or drying.

Evaluating the Risk: Where Should You Start?

Risk analysis doesn’t begin and end with a zoning diagram. It’s a technical process designed to anticipate incidents and support decision-making with evidence.

According to international standards, a complete risk assessment should include the following steps:

Identify flammable substances used in the process and determine their explosive parameters
(e.g. Minimum Ignition Energy, Minimum Ignition Temperature, Minimum Explosive Concentration),
either via certified lab testing or trusted databases (e.g. BIA, GESTIS DUST-EX).
Define the frequency and duration of explosive atmospheres in each zone (ATEX classification),
using EN 60079-10-1/2 or VDI guidelines.
Evaluate ignition sources present and their effectiveness (hot surfaces, mechanical sparks, electrostatic discharges, electric sparks, etc.) using EN 1127-1.
Determine the risk level using assessment methodologies such as RASE2000.
Define the necessary prevention and/or protection measures to reduce the residual risk to an acceptable level using references like CEN/TR 16829 for bucket elevators or NFPA standards.

Recommended Prevention and Protection Measures

There are several processes in food plants where the above methodology should be applied, including:

Raw material reception and storage:
For granular materials (barley, malt, corn, etc.) or powders (flour, sugar, spices).
Cleaning processes:
For granular products using equipment such as sieves and cleaners.
Grinding:
Typically used for granular materials with mills.
Powder mixing:
Using scales, feeders, and mixers.
Drying:
To reduce product moisture content, applicable to powders or granular materials.