Different methods used to close bags of remnant ingredients?
Hello all you wonderful Food Safety People,
I was curious as to the different methods being used to close bags of remnant ingredients. I have been through a few audits. My first audit we were using sealing tape. the auditor stated that tape deteriorates and is unacceptable means of sealing a bag. I then tried heavy duty clips. The auditor took issue with the spring and the fact that it was plastic even though I had added them to the brittles log.
Looking for ideas on how to improve on this.
Much appreciated
Zip ties were common practice in spice plants I've worked in (re-closing sample bags, all of the bags for our WIP material, etc). We'd document how to cut zip ties cleanly as part of our processing programs, and state that zip ties were to be cut prior to taking the material to the areas where we'd dump it into equipment so the zip tie couldn't be introduced into our process. Had auditors (SQF and customer) ask employees to cut the ties in front of them to verify the training, and employees knew we expected any lost pieces to be reported.
Kept waiting for an auditor or customer to demand I switch to metal detectable zip ties, but the process survived multiple audits without any findings.
This is a rough one. Most of the time what people do in my facility is fold the bag over and reseal with tape. The auditors have never taken issue with this, but some of them don't spend enough time on the floor in my opinion to get a proper picture of the facility. The auditors probably want you to transfer the material to a new bag and seal it with a zip tie with the plastic folded over itself, so that the plastic goes under the zip tie twice. This is best industry practice, but it takes a certain amount of effort and materials for very little gain with a lot of materials.
IMO zipties and tape both pose a risk of contamination. Best I have seen, is folding the bag over, then covering with a clear plastic sack (Food approved).
Putting in a new bag is a bad idea, don't you lose traceability?
IMO zipties and tape both pose a risk of contamination. Best I have seen, is folding the bag over, then covering with a clear plastic sack (Food approved).
Obviously, you're supposed to label the bag with a sticker. I have seen this go wrong before, but I've also seen old boxes and bags decay to the point they're illegible and develop holes. In your method you still have potentially filthy bag exterior coming into contact with the raw material since you aren't using tape. I may be dealing with totally different bags from you though. Normally, what I deal with is 25 kg bags with a food safe liner.
You could try using bins instead of weighing directly out of ingredient bags. I.e. each ingredient has its own dedicated bin big enough to accommodate a full bag with a dedicated scoop for dispensing the partial portion of an ingredient in a recipe.
Hi WanderingFSM, welcome to the forum.
1. Just curious what made the 1st auditor think that sealing tape deteriorates, it's plastic isn't it? And secondly, how long you could keep your remnant ingredients so that the sealing tape would deteriorate - years? Remnants are usually used fast, aren't they?
2. Again strange: why 2nd auditor would make a comment if your sealing clips were under control (you inspected them regularly as part of your glass/BP inspection, didn't you?)
All in all, whatever you are going use to close your bags - first, do risk assessment: say, if you're going to use any means of sealing (e.g. tape, clips, etc.), do a documented study to ensure that closing item (e.g. tape, clips, etc.) don't pose any food safety risk.
I think your auditors are being over the top
Having said that---is heat sealing an option? Can you decant into sealable totes/bins?
I think your auditors are being over the top
Having said that---is heat sealing an option? Can you decant into sealable totes/bins?
We keep our bags of ingredient leftovers (powders) in bins with lids.