4 replies to this topic

[astro]

Hi

 

I am in a bit of a debate with the company I work for (only been here 3 months) regarding chemicals used to clean machines. For me I am not confident explaining to and Auditor the chemicals we use and about safety.

 

Currently we are using a cleaner which is not food safe and also solvents to remove glue, ink etc. I have said this is no good as it is also eating away at the machinery.

 

I have spoken with my TM and all I get is the solvent will evaporate, get others opinions on this. I don't want any other persons opinion form the site as they will say it is ok as they have done this for years, My issue is how did they get to this conclusion as for me we should be using food safe chemicals.

 

I also believe the solvents are reacting with the machines as we are seeing paint removing from them which I believe is from the chemicals.

 

Look forward to hearing your comments!

[Evans X.]

Greetings Astro,

 

It is not really unheard of to use non-food grade chemicals for cleaning especially difficult grime. However if this is being done then it is followed up by a second or third cleaning with food grade chemicals, detailed inspection for any signs of deterioriation to the equipment which will be followed by replacement of parts/ re-painting etc and even pH tests in the waste water after the 2nd/3rd cleaning in order to determine if the washing removed the non-food grade chemical.

But the thing is that technology nowdays in this field is really advanced and I can't believe there are no heavy-duty food-grade chemicals. You should contact your suplier and then present it to the board for testing and I would really insist in changing the agent that is currently used.

 

Regards!

[Scotty_SQF]

Ask what solvent is being used.  One company I worked for used one that in the US was considered GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).  Thus it was ok to use and never had issues with auditors on it.  That being said I still worked to find a better solution.  Also, it would depend on what part of the process.  For instance, the solvent they were using to clean were on the presses.  This layer was not food contact for the final structure, thus even less of an issue.  The layer that was food contact was the layer laminated to the printed on layer, so that was where the concern was and the solvent in question, wasn't used on the rollers for the food contact layer or on the slitters that was the last step of the process.  Not sure any of this helps.

[jfrey123]

Have you reviewed your company's prior audits to see what they noted about your sanitation program?  If your company is currently certified with auditors having seen what this process is, I think you're going to face an uphill battle to change something that might not actually be broken...

 

If a change is truly needed and they don't like changing away from the cleanser that works, I like the option mentioned above of cleaning off the "bad" cleaner with a food safe one.  Your chemical rep should be able to help determine something practical for your use.

 

But one thing jumped out at me: your current cleanser is eating paint off of the machines.  I'm hoping there isn't a risk of this paint getting into the packaging you produce...

[Hoosiersmoker]

We are a paperboard packaging manufacturer and use lacquer thinner, denatured alcohol and CFS-3000 (a terpene based solvent provided by or adhesive manufacturer). The CFS-300 is "safer" and GRAS but doesn't work very well. The machine manufacturer recommends Lacquer thinner over acetone as it doesn't dry out the belts on our gluers. The majority of the contact from the belts is to the non-food side of the packaging so after the chemical dries, the risk is very low.

 

We had an auditor (no longer able to visit us) try to write us a major for not washing down the machinery daily. I got a letter from the manufacturer of the machines that it would quickly cripple the machine if we were to wash down the machine due to the loss of lubrication. Then the re-lubrication (to over 600 rollers on each machine) would take hours and increase the risk of contaminating the product due to potential over lubricating and oil flinging. Just make sure to do a thorough risk assessment taking all of the risks and consequences into consideration.

 

All that being said, As a Safety Manager, I tried for years to have the highly flammable chemicals eliminated from the building altogether. Not being able to find a suitable solvent, we opted for much safer methods for dispensing and usage which drastically reduced the amount we were using and reduced the food safety risk as well. Maybe not using as much would help you too?