Introducing Nilfisk Vacuums: Flour Dust Control Measures
Here at Vanrooy, we’ve just introduced our range of industrial vacuum cleaners by Nilfisk vacuums. These are to help keep your bakery staff safe and your bakery clean, as well as to help you meet Australia’s new stricter Workplace Exposure Limits for flour dust from December 2026.
It might be hard to imagine that something as familiar as flour could be dangerous. After all, it sits on supermarket shelves, it is in home kitchens and it has been used in baking for thousands of years. But for workers who are around it every single day, flour dust is a recognised and serious health hazard.
The problem comes down to size. When flour becomes airborne during everyday tasks like tipping bags into a mixer, kneading dough, or cleaning up spills, the particles are so fine that they can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Over time, this repeated exposure can trigger a range of serious health problems, including changes in lung function, chronic bronchitis and most notably, occupational asthma.
Other symptoms linked to regular flour dust exposure include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, a runny nose, eye irritation and skin reactions. These might start out mild, but without intervention, they can become permanent.
What is Occupational Asthma?
Occupational asthma is a type of asthma that develops specifically because of something a person is exposed to at work. In the baking and food production industries, flour dust is one of the most common triggers.
When someone breathes in flour dust repeatedly, their immune system can become sensitised to the proteins found in the flour. Once sensitised, even small amounts of dust can trigger an asthmatic response, causing the airways to narrow and making it difficult to breathe.
What makes this particularly concerning is how long it can take for symptoms to appear. Research shows that most bakery workers begin experiencing symptoms around eight years after their initial exposure, and in some cases occupational asthma can develop after 30 years on the job. By the time symptoms are noticeable, significant and sometimes irreversible damage may already have occurred.
The statistics paint a serious picture. In Poland, occupational asthma was diagnosed in nearly 45% of bakers who reported respiratory symptoms at work. In France, baker’s asthma accounts for roughly 20% of all occupational asthma cases. In the UK and Norway, flour and grain dust exposure is the second most commonly reported cause of occupational asthma overall.
What is Australia Doing about Occupational Asthma?
In Australia, Safe Work Australia has set the exposure limit for flour dust at a time-weighted average of 4mg/m3. But research suggests that even at levels below this threshold, long-term sensitisation is still possible, particularly at concentrations above 1mg/m3.
For a long time, flour dust was not treated as its own distinct hazard. Instead, it was grouped under a general ‘Particulates Not Otherwise Classified’ category, with limits sitting between 3 and 10mg/m3. That is about to change significantly.
From 1 December 2026, a new Workplace Exposure Limit of just 0.5mg/m3 will come into effect. That is a reduction of more than 83% from previous benchmarks and the first time Australia has formally recognised flour dust as a hazardous substance requiring its own dedicated management plan.
For businesses working with flour, this means dust levels that were previously acceptable may now exceed the legal limit. Employers will need to measure exposure through accredited air monitoring, review existing ventilation and controls and keep detailed records proving compliance. Waiting until the deadline to begin preparing is not a smart strategy. The time to act is now.
Occupational Asthma Prevention
The good news is that occupational asthma is largely preventable. The key is reducing how much flour dust gets into the air in the first place and making sure workers are not breathing in what does. Occupational asthma prevention starts with understanding the risk, monitoring dust levels in the workplace and putting the right controls in place before health problems develop. We will cover those controls in detail below.
Control Measures that Could Reduce the Risk of Exposure to Flour Dust
The strongest flour dust control measures are engineering controls: extraction hoods over mixing stations and bag-tipping areas, enclosed mixing systems, and good facility-wide ventilation. Beyond that, simple work practice changes make a real difference. Gently tipping flour bags, sprinkling rather than throwing flour and always starting a mixer on a slow speed all reduce how much dust becomes airborne.
When engineering and work practices are not enough on their own, workers should be provided with properly fitted P1 or P2 disposable masks that comply with AS/NZS 1716.
How to Clean Flour Dust?
Cleaning is one of the most overlooked sources of flour dust exposure. Here is what to do and what to avoid:
Never use a dry broom or compressed air. Both methods throw settled dust back into the air, creating a fresh wave of inhalable particles.
Wet cleaning is the safest option for surfaces, as it significantly reduces the amount of dust that becomes airborne.
Can you vacuum up spilled flour? You can vacuum flour, but the type of vacuum matters enormously. Standard household or shop vacuums are not suitable. Their filters are not fine enough to trap flour dust particles, meaning the machine can expel dust back into the air.
A proper flour dust vacuum must be fitted with a HEPA filter at minimum to capture fine particles effectively.
In commercial and industrial settings, use a vacuum specifically rated for fine dust collection, such as a dedicated industrial vacuum cleaner.
In environments where high concentrations of flour dust present an explosion risk, only an explosion proof vacuum should be used.
Nilfisk Vacuums for Flour Dust
By now, you can probably see why it’s important that we’re supplying industrial flour vacuums, which is why we’ve taken to supplying the best.
Nilfisk commercial vacuums are purpose-built for the demands of food production environments. Their range of flour vacuums covers everything from compact units for smaller bakeries through to powerful industrial machines for large-scale facilities, with every model designed to capture flour dust safely without re-exposing workers during cleanup or emptying.
Nilfisk VHS010 Mini Flour Vacuum
The Nilfisk VHS010 Mini is a compact, lightweight vacuum built specifically for bakeries and flour mills. It carries H-Class filtration, the highest standard for capturing fine hazardous dusts like flour and is certified safe for use in areas where flour dust could pose an explosion risk.
It is easy to move around tight spaces, safe to empty without exposing workers to captured dust and is a practical way to help meet Australia’s incoming 0.5mg/m³ workplace exposure limit from
December 2026.
Nilfisk VHS110 Compact Industrial Flour Vacuum
The Nilfisk VHS110 is a slim, powerful industrial vacuum that fits into a 400mm footprint, making it easy to position around machinery and in tight spaces. It is IECEx certified for safe use in areas where flour dust poses an explosion risk and its Longopac endless bag system seals captured dust during disposal so workers are never re-exposed when emptying.
With a 1.1kW brushless motor requiring no maintenance and an airflow of 216 m³/h, it is built for serious, continuous use in bakeries and flour mills working toward compliance with Australia’s December 2026 exposure limits.
Nilfisk VHS210 Powerful Industrial Flour Vacuum
The Nilfisk VHS210 is the most powerful single-phase flour vacuum in the Nilfisk range, delivering 330 m³/h of airflow through a 1.85kW brushless motor that requires zero maintenance. Like the VHS110, it carries both H-Class and IECEx certification, covering hazardous dust capture and explosive atmosphere safety in one machine.
Its Longopac bag system seals dust safely during disposal, a high-reach version is available for overhead cleaning above machinery, and despite its power output it runs at just 67 dB(A). A serious option for larger bakeries and food manufacturing facilities with high-volume cleaning demands.
Be Ready for the December 2026 Deadline
Flour dust is a serious and often underestimated workplace hazard, but with the right controls, the right cleaning practices and the right equipment, it is entirely manageable.
With Australia’s new 0.5mg/m³ exposure limit coming into effect in December 2026, now is the time to review your approach. Browse the Nilfisk flour vacuum range and find the right solution for your bakery.
