Are dry erase white boards allowed inside a food production area?

hello,

i'm QA manager at a food processing facility,

are dry erase white boards allowed inside production area ?

the purpose is so employees from different shifts can leave notes

related to unfinished batches

I have seen these in use as you want to use them and I have never seen/heard of an auditor objecting to their use -- but I have seen auditors ask for risk analysis on them.

As I would if I were still an Auditor.

The risk is in how the dust from the markers are controlled, foreign material, etc.

The ones I've been have the erasers and markers attached with a cord that in and of itself will not cause an issue.

Write away!

Look closely at how the board is attached to the wall.  If there is a gap where insects could potentially crawl into to hide, that may be an issue.  Seal the board to the wall and make sure it is kept as clean as possible and you should be ok.  But don't be surprised if some auditor asks you when was the last time the board was removed and the wall behind it cleaned.  Good luck.

I think Glen has covered it - risk assessment!....

You can purchase metal detectable marker pens (as per factory pens) but they aren't cheap so consider tying them down if you don't want pay that extra or for the pens to "walk" away from the area....