Protective measures for pharmaceutical sampling – the extraction arm FUMEX PSS featured in the PharmaCongress magazine

Back in March, the FUMEX PSS extraction arm was featured in an article in the official magazine for the PharmaCongress 2025. It is one of Europe’s leading expos for the pharmaceutical industry, held annually in Wiesbaden, Germany. The article, written by Maren Schlichting, describes the challenges and possible solutions in the protection of sensitive products and handling of hazardous substances in filling and distribution centers. Here is a summary of the article.

In the pharmaceutical industry, all ingredients must be of high quality to ensure the final products are safe and work well. By taking samples from the incoming substances, companies can check that everything meets the standard, and protective measures help prevent contamination and keep the products safe in the process.

The withdrawal of samples must meet requirements on employee protection and product protection requirements according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice). Whereas product protection refers to sterile working environments and avoiding cross-contamination, risk assessments define employee protection measures.

Working according to the STOP hierarchy

Furthermore, the PharmaCongress 2025 article elaborates on the principle of the STOP-hierarchy. It defines four levels of protective measures and specifies a ranking for the selection.

S – Substitution
T – Technical protective measures
O – Organizational protective measures
P – Personal protective measures

In manual sampling, where substitution is excluded, the technical protective measures are essential to minimize employee exposure to hazardous substances and ensure product protection. For pharmaceutical industries, closed or extraction systems are often the solution.

Depending on the process requirements, various technical protective measures can also be combined, such as laminar air flow technology combined with extraction arms. In contrast, the first provides a controlled environment, and the extraction arm captures hazardous substances directly at the source. This combination is particularly suitable for processes with high demands on hygiene and hazardous substance protection.

Stainless steel, antistatic plastics, and chemical-resistant materials usually offer the best properties to meet the high safety requirements, hygiene, and ease of maintenance requirements.

FUMEX PSS extraction arm meets the demand

We were delighted to see our PSS acknowledged in this in-depth article about protective measures for the pharmaceutical industry – and also, in a facility designed by the environmental safety company Denios.

FUMEX PSS is made for applications and environments with high hygiene and safety requirements. During product development, we combined our expertise in air extraction with a focus on appropriate material and minimizing the number of components.

Today, the FUMEX PSS extraction arm is the only extraction arm on the market that is cleanroom certified while meeting ATEX and ‘food grade’ requirements.