3 replies to this topic

[MarkM]

Hello, I am new to Food Quality and this is my first post here, so please go easy on me. 

 

We are a food processing (applesauce) facility who have had a few third party audits, and are

now about ready to step up to SQF.

 

My question is about our New Alpha checkweigher.

 

We have a total of 4 scales and a checkweigher in our facility.

 

The 4 scales are certified by an outside source annually, but I have not been able to find out if

the checkweigher falls under the same requirements for calibration certification.

 

The checkweigher is calibrated daily in house before the start of production and product is checked

against it with a certified scale every half an hour.

 

Are Alpha Checkweighers held to the same standards as conventional scales?

 

Thank You in advance for your assistance.

[Scampi]

Does the finished good go over a calibrated scale after the checkweigher?

[nwilson]

We have 6 automatic checkweighers in our process and we consider them to be the main weighing system for finished product. This could be a different scenario in your case.  We have our Contract Service Provider check all of our scales annually and issue a certificate of accuracy.  We check the scales weekly for accuracy and haven't had any major deviations to speak of (as of yet) for the checkweighers.  Both of my last 2 SQF Audits (2017 & 2018) these checkweighers, along with hand scales used in ingredient batching, were reviewed.  So I would say yes as far as the standards question however you are verifying the accuracy of the checkweigher with the calibrated standard scale. 

 

My question to you would be if you can export the weight data from the checkweigher to verify that the weight standards are being met?  This is another way to prove that your scale is performing as it should and is accurate, other than the weight checks at start up.  

[Gerard H.]

Dear Mark,

 

If the checkweigher is used for commercial purposes, it needs to be certified equally by an acrredited instance.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gerard Heerkens