Is a wooden board as working table top allowed inside a bakery room?
Is wooden board as working table top allowed inside a bakery room?
Hi Pranav
As a general rule you don't want any wood in production areas.
Product in contact with wood is to be avoided.
regards
But if the wooden working boards are treated with chemicals at regular intervals still you would advise not to use inside the kitchen.
So the questions that raises is what intervals?
How did you determine them?
Yes, I would use something else. The wood provides areas for microbial growth. The surface of wood also lends itself to splintering.
It really doesn't matter whether the wood is regularly washed, treated, lacquered, or magical. The auditor is going to happily deduct points from you, with the tagline "Wood is not an acceptable material in a food production environment." It doesn't matter whether that line is true or not. It's a widely believed fact.
Hi Pranav,
I agree with the above statements from Ian R, Setanta, and tadelong. To backstop tadelong's statement (The auditor is going to happily deduct points from you), a GFSI auditor will inevitably do so at some point, if not the first time they audit your facility. For instance, BRC clause 4.9.4.1 states: "Wood should not be used in open product areas except where this is a process requirement (e.g. maturation of products in wood). Where the use of wood cannot be avoided, the condition of wood shall be continually monitored to ensure it is in good condition and free from damage or splinters which could contaminate products".
An FDA inspector might cite 21CFR110.20(b)(2) (see:http://www.accessdat...h.cfm?fr=110.20): "Permit the taking of proper precautions to reduce the potential for contamination of food, food-contact surfaces, or food-packaging materials with microorganisms, chemicals, filth, or other extraneous material."
You're probably going to have a hard time convincing a CB that there is no risk having a wooden table top, and the effort you would have to put in to ensuring that they do not pose a hazard (inspection, cleaning, validation) would more than likely prove to be more expensive over the long run as opposed to simply using food safe material to begin with.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Thank you so much for all your inputs.
I wonder in the long history of baking has anyone ever been injured or become ill as a result of a wooden bakery work top... :dunno:
I'm in one of those moods today. :bye:
Regards,
Simon
PS: still love cheesecake :)
Pranav does not indicate if the bakery in question is subject to thrd party accreditation, although I guess it probably is with the question being posed in this forum.
But UK domestic regulations would be ok with the wooden table top providing it was in good condition.
Dear Barrie,
But UK domestic regulations would be ok with the wooden table top providing it was in good condition
?? Validation please ? :smile:
Rgds / Charles.C
Who determines 'good' condition? Apparently, I'm in one of those moods, too!
Who determines 'good' condition? Apparently, I'm in one of those moods, too!
Clean, sound, free from damage and deterioration like splinters.
What kind of material is typically used in bakeries (other than stainless steel)?
Dear azaam nafiz,
Thks for the back-link.
Very interesting that post 5 in the link appears to negate many (but not all) of the opinions in this / that thread. i personally find the content rather hard to believe but every day one (hopefully) learns something. :smile:
Rgds / Charles.C