Heavy metal testing in-house?
Hello!
Does anyone here test for heavy metals in- house? We are a small food manufacturing company and need to comply with prop 65. We are looking to test heavy metals in-house but not sure where to start.
Thanks!
Hi!
We do not do in house heavy metal testing but a common method employed is AAS i.e. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). I would suggest reading up on the corresponding ASTM or ISO test method standard for testing which will give you an idea of the methodology involved and equipment needed.
Hope this helps!
Hello!
Does anyone here test for heavy metals in- house? We are a small food manufacturing company and need to comply with prop 65. We are looking to test heavy metals in-house but not sure where to start.
Thanks!
Hi rain,
For "small" establishments usually not.
Usual reason = cost/technological/demand frequency.
Any idea how much it costs?
Any idea how much it costs?
https://www.alibaba....ASAAEgKnTvD_BwE
+ staff
+ maintenance
+ chemicals
If you're in canada or the usa, I recommend MAXXAM
if you're close to a great university they may offer the service
there are only about 2000 heavy metals to test for! The list is actually a lot longer than you think and NOT the sort of testing I'd ever consider doing in house
If you're in canada or the usa, I recommend MAXXAM
if you're close to a great university they may offer the service
there are only about 2000 heavy metals to test for! The list is actually a lot longer than you think and NOT the sort of testing I'd ever consider doing in house
We are mostly looking to test Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, and Selenium. We are looking to reduce costs by testing in-house. We are located near a lot of universities so maybe I can look into that. Thanks
We are mostly looking to test Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, and Selenium. We are looking to reduce costs by testing in-house. We are located near a lot of universities so maybe I can look into that. Thanks
We're close to University of Guelph (big deal in the food science world) and they will test for water activity for $20/ea MAXXAM minimum cost $150! So yes, universities can be a great tool
"heavy metals" is a variously utilized terminology. Can be a short group, especially from a regulatory POV.
Food oriented -
Hajeb_et_al-2014-Comprehensive_Reviews_in_Food_Science_and_Food_Safety(1).pdf 409.91KB 30 downloads
Hello!
Does anyone here test for heavy metals in- house? We are a small food manufacturing company and need to comply with prop 65. We are looking to test heavy metals in-house but not sure where to start.
Thanks!
Hi Rain
I would also advise that, if testing inhouse is planned, your testing facility may need to be ISO17025 accredited.The reason for this is that, in the event of a dispute between your organisation & a customer/supplier - the tests conducted by an accredited body will always have more credibility than those conducted by a non accredited facility - if your products are expensive this is worth considering. If, however, your employer has no worries on this score, this is not to meet a legal standard, and/or you are not BRC certified, ISO17025 accreditation may not be required.
If you are BRC accredited do refer to section 5.6.2.3 as any test relating to "safety or legality" must be conducted by an ISO17025 accredited facility
(unfortunately I'm not aware of the requirements for other standards)
It may be worth looking at the cost of testing in-house (equipment/training/chemicals/PPE/waste chemical disposal etc.) and compare his to the cost for external analysis. You don't say what products you manufacture or how often you intend to perform this test.
If you are conducting a lot of internal testing it may be cheaper to perform this testing yourself, however if this is just an annual screen an external laboratory may be the cheaper option.
Hi Lesley,
I agree with yr general comments however IIRC yr BRC quote is not quite accurate (up to BRC7 anyway). I think there is an "equivalence" factored in (didn't check).
IMEX, "heavy metals" AA testing is a very remunerative business for commercial labs but it's equally a very convenient/fast option to the customer.
We are BRC accredited. So does that mean that any testing the we do in house need to be ISO17025 accredited? We currently do micro testing in house but we don't have accreditation and the auditors haven't mentioned anything to us...
We are BRC accredited. So does that mean that any testing the we do in house need to be ISO17025 accredited? We currently do micro testing in house but we don't have accreditation and the auditors haven't mentioned anything to us...
Hi Rain
If your BRC auditor is happy that you are following section 5.6.2.3
Where the company undertakes or subcontracts analyses which are critical to product safety or legality, the laboratory or subcontractors shall have gained recognised laboratory accreditation or operate in accordance with the requirements and principles of ISO/IEC 17025. Documented justification shall be available where accredited methods are not undertaken.
adequately it sounds like you are compliant & if your customer's question this you can then show compliance with your annual BRC audit report. The fact that you already have a laboratory on site makes the proposal to start in house heavy metal testing a little easier.
You don't say which country you are located in, or if you are asked to provide COAs to your customers?.... my experience of UK is that increasingly our customers are asking for analysis results to be completed in an ISO17025 accredited laboratory.... your customers may not be so picky?.....
We have laboratories at a couple of our sites, they are not ISO17025 accredited but work to the principles of ISO17025 standard. We complete basic testing, moisture, particle size analysis & general microbiology, including factory micro swabs. Pathogen, heavy metal & pesticides are completed by a 3rd party external laboratory to demonstrate compliance with relevant legislation - plus our finished product is very expensive, so a test failure would have serious financial implications for us.
Hi all. I have used an ISO/IEC 17025 lab for environmental and product testing, but during my internal audit it was raised that some tests weren't accredited.
So what "documented justification" can I or the lab give for not using accredited methods, in case this is raised during my BRCGS audit?
Our product is low risk (sugar cubes) and also I did have quotes from another lab, but this one was cheaper.
Thank you all.