The Brief
A large bakery group with 3 production halls was failing BRC audits on allergen segregation. The issue wasn't procedural — it was physical.
The Challenge
Shared air handling systems were allowing airborne allergen transfer between zones. Inadequate HVAC zoning meant pressure differentials couldn't be maintained. CIP dead legs in the pipework were harbouring residues. The cleaning team was compensating with excessive manual cleaning — but the BRC auditor could see the engineering wasn't right.
Our Approach
We redesigned the HVAC zoning across all 3 halls to create proper pressure cascades between allergen zones. Replaced 340m of pipework to eliminate dead legs. Installed dedicated CIP circuits per allergen zone. Rewrote the HACCP plan to match the new physical layout. All work was scheduled during existing production breaks — we didn't ask for a single hour of additional downtime.
Results
BRC Grade A restored (from Grade C)
Zero additional downtime beyond scheduled breaks
Allergen test positives reduced from 23/month to 0