12 replies to this topic

[RAM86]

Is it necessary to give each knife its own serial number? Here at our company its necessary to give many people their own Metal detectable knife for the manufacture of food grade labeling. I have started a "Sharps register" for issuing knives and another tab for re issuing knives. Additionally, I have begun working on the document work instruction portion to this. Currently all we have is a OPL for using only a Metal Detectable knife. 

 

Any help is appreciated. Do we really need to give serial numbers to each knife, and if so, is it ok to use possibly asset stickers rather than hand engraving all knives?

[SQFconsultant]

We hot stamp the handle with a number sequence. I would avoid using a sticker as then you'll get into foreign material. Hot stamping or engraving works best for us. 

[MDaleDDF]

We don't do it at all.  But we're a pretty small place.

[G M]

Is it necessary to give each knife its own serial number? ... Do we really need to give serial numbers to each knife, and if so, is it ok to use possibly asset stickers rather than hand engraving all knives?

 

Strictly necessary, no, but its probably preferable to the alternatives.  

 

For example lets say you're just doing a count.  Ten go out and nine come back for 1st shift.  Now you have a missing knife, but don't know which one, so you end up holding everything instead of just the lots that one serial numbered knife could have gone into.

 

I would not use a sticker or anything else that could become FM.  There are various kinds of etching that can be done quickly or inexpensively.

[Brothbro]

Yeah it's not required by code but you do need to have an "effective system". So a numbered system does indeed help because of reasons other users have pointed out. In places I've worked, knives were kept track of per operator. So you sort of knew which knife was missing based on which operator failed to account for their knife at the end of a shift. But if multiple were gone, you wouldn't know which knife was which once they were recovered. In that case a numbering system would help with knife traceability. So it may be a good idea to implement if it's not too much of a strain on your system.

[jfrey123]

Labeling knives is good for reconciliation/tracking as well as sanitation.  For tools that can affect food safety, like a knife used to open packages, eventually an auditor will look at one and say "show me the record where this specific knife was last cleaned."  We stickered box cutters that were used in production at one of my plants, and employees had to check out the individual knives on a log, and upon check in they had to verify the tool was washed and sanitized before being returned and that it was in good condition (and the stickers were durable, but employees would report when a sticker was starting to peel or need replacement).  Engraving would have been better in my mind, but bossman didn't want to open the can of worms about whether the engraved area becomes a harborage point on the tool.

[suhaibalbadawi97]

We hot stamp the handle with a number sequence. I would avoid using a sticker as then you'll get into foreign material. Hot stamping or engraving works best for us.

[suhaibalbadawi97]

We hot stamp the handle with a number sequence. I would avoid using a sticker as then you'll get into foreign material. Hot stamping or engraving works best for us.

Hello everyone, is the engraving on the handles difficult to clean? What method do you use?

[MDaleDDF]

 "show me the record where this specific knife was last cleaned." 

I'd need that auditor to direct me to that requirement.   You keep written records every time you wash your knives?

[jfrey123]

I'd need that auditor to direct me to that requirement.   You keep written records every time you wash your knives?

 

I realize now I stumbled into the BRC section lol.  My proficiency is SQF is a bit more document heavy, and they call for identifying what is to be cleaned, how, and when in 11.2.5.  After an initial hit, our SOP called for knives/tools to be washed and sanitized prior to being returned after a shift or after a production run.  We captured it on the tool check out form (small check box asking if tool has been washed/sanitized which employees would initial to confirm).  Tool use was often scrutinized in my plant at that time, auditors asking how we prevent a knife that was used on one line not traveling to another, where we document knives were cleaned, etc.  It was made clear to us repeatedly that it wasn't enough to be able to show a knife was cleaned, they wanted the records to specify that *this* knife was cleaned.

Edited by jfrey123, 31 August 2023 - 06:29 PM.

[lynzy05]

We engrave it, record them on an excel file on who issued it and when. QA team checks it every month for cleaning and bluntness. 

 

We only do this because an auditor once raised that we do not have a record of knife maintenance. 

[lynzy05]

Hello everyone, is the engraving on the handles difficult to clean? What method do you use?

 

 

Depends on the product you use it for and type of knife. the MD knives have a key to open them.

[lynzy05]

I'd need that auditor to direct me to that requirement.   You keep written records every time you wash your knives?

 

BRC V9 4.10.3.1, 4.9.2.1 

 

We have a knife register where cleaning and opening the MD knives are part of it. to check if anything broken etc.