Validating External Laundry Supplier and Cleaned Overalls

Hello guys,



Can auditors think of anything else with which to wreck our heads??

We use an external launderette, The coats are swabbed regularly and are shwon to be clean. However, we just had an audit from a customer and they want the launderette validated. How am I going to achieve that? How does one validate a washing machine? I preume we need to check the time/temperature of the cycle but I have not the first clue how to go about that? I wonder is there any indicator strips available, like autoclave tape, which would verify the temperature reached.


Any ideas?

Hello guys,



Can auditors think of anything else with which to wreck our heads??

We use an external launderette, The coats are swabbed regularly and are shwon to be clean. However, we just had an audit from a customer and they want the launderette validated. How am I going to achieve that? How does one validate a washing machine? I preume we need to check the time/temperature of the cycle but I have not the first clue how to go about that? I wonder is there any indicator strips available, like autoclave tape, which would verify the temperature reached.


Any ideas?

Suggest you to check the microbiological quality of the coats after the cleaning operation, upon getting them back. (for instance swab tests).

saguym

Does anyone have any reports of food safety issues caused by laundry problems...?

Hi,


As you already swabing the coats and testing I think you should just visited the laundry company.


We don't swab the clothes, but I got the same question from a customer. I visted the laundry company and had a chat about what kind of power they used, how tidy everything looked. Made a repport that they don't mix up our clothes together with the clothes from a chemical company etc. As you're already checking the coats I wouldn't test it further. Unless there is of course a high risk.

Other possiblity is if the laundry company is ISO certified as then you can send in their certificate. They've been audited by a certified body.


My guess is that your customer just wants to have an audit report for his file.

Good luck!


Anne

Good idea Anne

I shall do an audit of the launderette and make sure all the other stuff is ok. I do think she mentioned the temperature of the machine etc... but like you say the coats are coming back clean, and being checked. I will amend her SOP ( yes we had to write an SOP for the laundry lady) to state that our coats should be washed seperately. I will still research the indicator strip idea would be no harm to have something like that for particularly nit -picking ( lovely gorgeous) auditors.

Dear trubertq,

I can recall posting some representative "specifications" for a laundry process into a quite detailed previous thread on yr opening topic. Conforming to such specs presumably acts as a primary step in the validation. I suggest a little searching, maybe for "laundry".

Rgds / Charles.C

I searched..... I found.....

I will write 100 times...I must not be lazy, I must search first.....



Thanks Charles and everyone else

I searched..... I found.....

I will write 100 times...I must not be lazy, I must search first.....



Thanks Charles and everyone else

Dear trubertq,

Glad you got somewhere. I hv to admit that searching can be "not always easy / lucky dip" if not sure of keywords or where there are many possible.

Just for other people's benefit, perhaps you could indicate which were most useful threads you found ?.
(I think the one I posted in myself is http://www.ifsqn.com...d-manufacturing /page__view__findpost__p__33568 )

Also just as a tip for would-be searchers, I personally find it much more helpful to change the display format to "as posts" so you get an immediate look at all the actual context. IMHO this should be the default but it presumably places a heavier load on the site mechanism, especially if a lot of hits / lot of searchers.

Rgds / Charles.C

Hello guys,

Can auditors think of anything else with which to wreck our heads??

We use an external launderette, The coats are swabbed regularly and are shwon to be clean. However, we just had an audit from a customer and they want the launderette validated. How am I going to achieve that? How does one validate a washing machine? I preume we need to check the time/temperature of the cycle but I have not the first clue how to go about that? I wonder is there any indicator strips available, like autoclave tape, which would verify the temperature reached.


Any ideas?

Hi Trubertq

I agree with Anne, your customer more than likely wants to see an audit report. The importance of this will be related to the risk associated with your operation.

BRC requires that the effectiveness of the laundry process is validated which in a way you are doing but you will also need to be confident adequate controls/segregation are in place at the laundry. This will inlcude control of things such as cross-contamination/contamination (dirt/foreign bodies/allergens).

Food grade laundries usually 'sterilise' the clothing, this should also be validated by the laundry itself. Spot checks can be done for temperature using 'Thermax strips'

Regards,

Tony

This laundry is a small commercial laundry , it would not claim to be food grade or anything close to it. However I am confident that the coats are clean. It's good to find out the name of the thermax strips though, I would like to get some of those. I will go out and speak to the ladies re segregation etc... and help them to get things organised.


and Charles what I found most useful was the audit checklist for the laundry , it will give me something to work from



http://www.ifsqn.com...h__1#entry37987

perhaps you also can do visual inspection on the laundrette. for my company since we have our own laundry the auditors only asked for the washing detergents certificate of analysis (COA). U can confirm with the laundry on what types of detergents they used and then asked from the suppliers for the COA.

Regards
Illiana