15 replies to this topic

[Ashiqindia]

Can anybody please tell me what was the source of the rubber? (''Nestlé Toll House cookie dough recalled nationwide due to rubber pieces found in dough'' )

[wbourg]

Everything I am seeing online is stating a food grade rubber.  Probably an O-ring of some sort that was discovered to be shredded. The dates were probably determined based on when the last time it was inspected and/or replaced. 

[Ashiqindia]

Root cause of food grade rubber might be from machinery parts, right? 

 

What kind of ''food grade rubber'' would be present in the processing line? 

 

Is there any chance from chocolate chips used in the cookie dough? 

[wbourg]

The dough will go through some kind of "former" or "extruder". This is where I would guess the culprit would be. Knowing exactly what the root cause is is hard since I do not have intimate knowledge of their operation.

 

 

It's a possibility that it was the chocolate chips. But for this to occur the vendor who sells the chocolate chips to Nestle would have missed catching it, as well as the quality/receiving team at Nestle. Then the fact it was a 100 day run and nobody caught it at any point at Nestle.

 

That's all definitely a possibility, but based on my personal experience an operator probably noticed the rubber and brought it up to management. They looked at the preventative maintenance log book to see when the O-ring was last checked and realized they only check quarterly. 

 

This is all just speculation though. I have had Food Safety issues where an operator signed that he checked a screen but didn't and had to toss a two day run of product. 

[Scampi]

There are a couple of links in this article that may provide some additional info

https://www.foodsafe...of-rubber-bits/

[kfromNE]

I doubt it was the chocolate chips too. If this were the case, the recall would be expanded. The food grade rubber could have come from their mixer/grinder in the form of a gasket. Like others have mentioned - it does happen and not usually caught until someone breaks down the equipment and notices it. 

We have a large grinder and this is what happened to us. Luckily checked daily and noticed at the end of the day.

[Charles.C]

What's the difference between food grade and non-food grade O-rings ? (other than the "obvious" of course) ?

 

Just curious.

[Scampi]

composition of the rubber

 

food grade rubber doesn't contain chemicals that could infiltrate the food

[Marloes]

The proposed root cause was ''the same'' for the nationwide Mars bar recall in 2016.
A piece of equipment was missing and they only found out about it after the complaint. They recalled everything up untill the last inspection.

[wbourg]

What's the difference between food grade and non-food grade O-rings ? (other than the "obvious" of course) ?

Just curious.

There are over a dozen materials that meet the requirements of the FDA for use in food applications. A few of the most commonly-requested include:

EPDM: Ethylene propylene diene monomer O-rings are designed to withstand a wide array of temperatures as well as resistance against phosphate esters and lipids. EPDM is perhaps the most widely-used food-grade O-ring material.

Nitrile Rubber: Nitrile rubber (butadiene acrylonitrile) is commonly used for food, medical, and cosmetic processing. It has excellent impact resistance and remains flexible throughout temperature cycles. Nitrile rubber is known for its durability even after repeated daily cycles.

Fluorocarbon: Fluorocarbons don’t absorb water and are known for their excellent high temperature resistance. They are ideal for use in applications in which steam or hot liquids are present and are in fact high-performing enough to be used in aerospace applications.

Neoprene: Highly resistant to oils, neoprene is also nearly impervious to ozone and the effects of ageing. An early alternative to natural rubber, neoprene is widely used for refrigeration and other food transport and storage applications.

Silicone: Silicone has quickly become one of the most popular food grade O-ring materials. It is highly stable and has one of the widest operating temperature ranges available today. It is an ideal material choice when the avoidance of cross-contamination is a priority.

[Charles.C]

There are over a dozen materials that meet the requirements of the FDA for use in food applications. A few of the most commonly-requested include:

EPDM: Ethylene propylene diene monomer O-rings are designed to withstand a wide array of temperatures as well as resistance against phosphate esters and lipids. EPDM is perhaps the most widely-used food-grade O-ring material.

Nitrile Rubber: Nitrile rubber (butadiene acrylonitrile) is commonly used for food, medical, and cosmetic processing. It has excellent impact resistance and remains flexible throughout temperature cycles. Nitrile rubber is known for its durability even after repeated daily cycles.

Fluorocarbon: Fluorocarbons don’t absorb water and are known for their excellent high temperature resistance. They are ideal for use in applications in which steam or hot liquids are present and are in fact high-performing enough to be used in aerospace applications.

Neoprene: Highly resistant to oils, neoprene is also nearly impervious to ozone and the effects of ageing. An early alternative to natural rubber, neoprene is widely used for refrigeration and other food transport and storage applications.

Silicone: Silicone has quickly become one of the most popular food grade O-ring materials. It is highly stable and has one of the widest operating temperature ranges available today. It is an ideal material choice when the avoidance of cross-contamination is a priority.

Hi wbourg,

 

Thanks and My Compliments on yr Googling skills.

https://www.wyattsea...ring-food-grade

 

And yet nitrile gloves can cause allergenic reactions. Hmmm.

https://omnigloves.c...rgic-reactions/

[Ashiqindia]

The dough will go through some kind of "former" or "extruder". This is where I would guess the culprit would be. Knowing exactly what the root cause is is hard since I do not have intimate knowledge of their operation.

 

 

It's a possibility that it was the chocolate chips. But for this to occur the vendor who sells the chocolate chips to Nestle would have missed catching it, as well as the quality/receiving team at Nestle. Then the fact it was a 100 day run and nobody caught it at any point at Nestle.

 

That's all definitely a possibility, but based on my personal experience an operator probably noticed the rubber and brought it up to management. They looked at the preventative maintenance log book to see when the O-ring was last checked and realized they only check quarterly. 

 

This is all just speculation though. I have had Food Safety issues where an operator signed that he checked a screen but didn't and had to toss a two day run of product. 

 

Chocolate chips  was produced Nestle itself. 

Was it customer complaint or Nestle noticed it while doing breakdown maintenance? Do you have any idea? 

[kfromNE]

Chocolate chips  was produced Nestle itself. 

Was it customer complaint or Nestle noticed it while doing breakdown maintenance? Do you have any idea? 

If it was in the chocolate chips and those chocolate chips were used in other items - they would have expanded the recall.

As for customer complaint or not - many times the recall will say it was from customer complaints.

[Ashiqindia]

If it was in the chocolate chips and those chocolate chips were used in other items - they would have expanded the recall.

As for customer complaint or not - many times the recall will say it was from customer complaints.

 

As per my investigation, this is to confirmed that the food grade rubber was not from the chocolate chips as they have been recalled cookie dough products containing no chocolate chips. Hence the source of the foreign material would be from the machinery parts where they prepared cookie dough. 

 

Also it was not a customer complaint (Nestlé USA Announces Voluntary Recall of Ready-to-Bake Refrigerated Cookie Dough Products Due to Potential Presence of Foreign Material). 

 

Root cause might be an inadequate preventive maintenance. 

[kfromNE]

As per my investigation, this is to confirmed that the food grade rubber was not from the chocolate chips as they have been recalled cookie dough products containing no chocolate chips. Hence the source of the foreign material would be from the machinery parts where they prepared cookie dough. 

 

Also it was not a customer complaint (Nestlé USA Announces Voluntary Recall of Ready-to-Bake Refrigerated Cookie Dough Products Due to Potential Presence of Foreign Material). 

 

Root cause might be an inadequate preventive maintenance. 

I bet you're right on the root cause.

[Ashiqindia]

I bet you're right on the root cause.

thank you for your time and consideration