Nutraceutical manufacturing sits in an awkward regulatory position. Food supplements are regulated as food in the UK, not as medicines, so the plant does not carry pharmaceutical GMP obligations. But the processes, powder blending, granulation, tabletting, encapsulation, are pharmaceutical processes, and customers increasingly expect pharmaceutical standards of control. Facilities frequently end up caught between the two.

Projex Solutions provides engineering design, hygienic design support and project delivery for nutraceutical and dietary supplement manufacturers.

What makes this work different

Powder handling dominates, and so does dust. Blending, milling, granulation, tabletting and encapsulation all generate fine organic dust. That brings DSEAR 2002 into scope with dust zoning and explosion protection, alongside occupational exposure control for active ingredients.

Cross-contamination control is the quality constraint. High active-ingredient counts and short campaigns mean frequent changeover. Segregation, dedicated equipment, airflow design and cleaning validation determine what the plant can actually run.

Allergen management applies. Supplements frequently contain or are manufactured alongside allergens, and physical segregation is an engineering answer to what is often treated as a procedural question.

Potent ingredients need containment. Some actives require containment and exposure control approaching pharmaceutical practice, in a facility built to food standards.

Certification expectations are rising. BRCGS and FSSC certification is increasingly required by customers, bringing hygienic design scrutiny that the original facility may not have been built for. FSSC 22000 Version 7, published in May 2026, gives a defined transition timeline for anyone needing physical changes.

Where we help

  • Dust explosion assessment and protection design across blending, granulation and tabletting
  • Occupational exposure control and LEV design for active ingredient handling
  • Containment design for potent ingredients
  • Cross-contamination and changeover design, covering segregation, airflow and cleaning
  • Allergen segregation design
  • Hygienic design gap closure against BRCGS and FSSC requirements
  • Powder handling and pneumatic conveying design
  • Feasibility, FEED, detailed design and EPCM delivery under ISO 9001:2015

Typical reasons clients get in touch

  • Dust explosion risk in blending or tabletting has never been assessed
  • Cross-contamination limits which products can share a line
  • A potent ingredient requires containment the facility does not have
  • Certification to BRCGS or FSSC requires physical facility changes
  • Allergen segregation needs an engineering rather than procedural solution
  • Capacity has to increase without proportional floor area

Related

Part of our work across the FMCG sector and the pharmaceutical sector. See also food and beverage processing.

Standards and regulations we work to

  • Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, food supplements being regulated as food in the UK
  • BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety Issue 9, with Issue 10 in development
  • FSSC 22000 Version 7, published May 2026, with a defined transition timetable
  • DSEAR 2002, with ACOP L138 (second edition, 2013), for combustible dust
  • BS EN 60079-10-2 for dust area classification
  • COSHH 2002, with ACOP L5 (sixth edition, 2013), for active ingredient exposure
  • HSG258, Controlling airborne contaminants at work, for LEV design
  • PUWER 1998, CDM 2015 and ISO 9001:2015

Frequently asked questions

We are regulated as food. Why are you talking about pharmaceutical practice?
Because your processes are pharmaceutical processes. Blending, granulation, tabletting and encapsulation carry the same dust, containment and cross-contamination challenges regardless of how the product is classified. Customers increasingly audit against that reality rather than against the minimum legal standard.

Is dust explosion risk genuine with vitamin and mineral powders?
Yes. Many organic powders used in supplements are explosible, and milling and blending generate exactly the conditions of concern. Zoning and explosion protection should be assessed rather than assumed absent.

Cross-contamination limits what we can run on each line. Is that a design problem?
Usually. Segregation, dedicated contact parts, airflow direction and cleanability determine what is achievable. Procedural controls can only do so much once the plant layout works against them.

Certification is being demanded by a customer. Where do we start?
With a gap assessment that separates what is procedural from what is physical, because the physical items carry the lead time and the capital, and those are what determine whether the audit date is realistic.

Can you support tabletting and encapsulation line installation?
Yes, covering layout, dust control, containment, utilities and the PUWER and machinery safety obligations that come with new equipment.

How is allergen segregation usually solved?
Physically, where the risk justifies it. Dedicated contact parts, separated airflow and controlled personnel routing achieve what cleaning procedures alone cannot, particularly on shared lines with short campaigns.

Do you work with contract manufacturers?
Yes. Contract manufacturing sites carry the additional challenge of a product mix that changes with the customer base, which makes designing for an envelope rather than a recipe especially important.

Our facility was built for food and we are moving towards pharmaceutical-grade expectations. Is that feasible?
Usually, in stages. The gap is normally in air handling, segregation and cleanability rather than in the process equipment itself, and those can often be addressed progressively rather than through a single rebuild. The first step is establishing which of your customers’ expectations are contractual and which are aspirational, because that determines how much has to change and by when.

Talk to us about your facility. Request a call