Please share experience of managing Internal Calibration

Hi Fellows

I would like to share your knowledge and experience in doing internal calibration ,as we are a catering service company , we have a separate activity for approved pest control , and PC team ,and accredited laboratory as well , I am thinking to reduce the high a mount of calibration fees given to the third party (calibration company ) by establishing a calibration team and getting approval and be accredited to do such as this activity , you cant believe what is the amount is paying against calibration , as the third party (certification body ) external auditors always asking for calibrating the kitchen equipment's  Is it possible or have you seen that there is a company doing calibration internally ? if yes what are the legal procedures can be followed to get such as approvals ? 

Please assist

Regards

Hygienic

Hygenic,

I'm sure it'll help everyone assist you to know what country you are located in seeing as you asked about legal procedures which will differ based on location and if you are audited to any standards as they may require specific things.

Thanks and good luck.

Dear Incognito

I need assist if possible to have this activity in the catering company or not ? regardless the country , because I know every country has own procedures ,but the question has any one had like this in his/her company ?

Regards

Hyginic

Hi All

now I remember that I have posted two years back and got answer from Charles and others

Dear hygienic,

It’s not on calibration but this document is quite readable on requirements (eg thermometers) for equipment/control of chilled and cold room-freezer temperatures. Eg see sections CR20 and FR22 respectively. One comment is that the usual recommendation is to put the probe in hottest location but people often directly attach to the wall for obvious reasons. Even so, auditors rarely object IMEX.

 performance specs., test procedures - cold rooms, freezer rooms, WHO.pdf   164.83KB   33 downloads

BRC implicitly (explicitly?) requires a data logger IMEX if you hv multiple freezers/ cold rooms. But still require calibration of course. Maybe easier to pay the money for a certified (data-logger) calibration service if not too frequent, eg annually (if the auditor accepts).

Do-it-yourself calibration is certainly possible but IMEX you may hv some local difficulties to get a master thermometer which is (certified) correct at multiple temperatures in range 0degC to -30degC. You may also need some good (Arctic clothing) climbing abilities. Probably easier to have a professional install an extension, plug-in point for routine access.

Another semi-related thread is here –

http://www.ifsqn.com...dpost__p__30719

Rgds / Charles.C

Thanks a lot

Hi Fellows

 

I would like to share your knowledge and experience in doing internal calibration ,as we are a catering service company , we have a separate activity for approved pest control , and PC team ,and accredited laboratory as well , I am thinking to reduce the high a mount of calibration fees given to the third party (calibration company ) by establishing a calibration team and getting approval and be accredited to do such as this activity , you cant believe what is the amount is paying against calibration , as the third party (certification body ) external auditors always asking for calibrating the kitchen equipment's  Is it possible or have you seen that there is a company doing calibration internally ? if yes what are the legal procedures can be followed to get such as approvals ? 

 

Please assist

 

Regards

Hygienic

the only activity calibration you should do in a kitchen is the thermometers, and that is relatively easy to do and practically no cost: simply dip the thermometer in ice bath and set to 0 ° C. Of course, should not be thermometers glass.

Hyginic, as a general rule, no one should be performing their own calibrations.  In the US, cGMP only requires that the calibration standards are traceable to NIST and that the operator performing the calibration is adequately trained.  That's the FDA regulations.

If you are certified by any scheme, they may require that calibrations be performed by an third party.

Calibrations are normally performed by someone who knows how to adjust or correct any inaccurate measurements.  It's different from a calibration check.  A calibration check is where you compare the reading of your equipment to the reading of a known calibrated instrument.  You should be able to perform calibration checks yourself, and then have items either replaced with a new one (for something like a thermometer) or repaired by an outside agency.

Your calibration checks should be performed according to an SOP that is part of your program.

Where I worked before, we did calibration checks on our balances/scales every day, but only an outside agency could calibrate them.  Because we were cGLP, a laboratory, we were required to have those calibrations done by an outside agency.  cGMP for food is not as strict as far as I can see.

Martha

the only activity calibration you should do in a kitchen is the thermometers, and that is relatively easy to do and practically no cost: simply dip the thermometer in ice bath and set to 0 ° C. Of course, should not be thermometers glass.

Kitchens could require balances and scales be calibrated... I'm sure there are other things that might need calibration as well.