Infrared Thermometer Calibration
I am about to purchase a few of infrared thermometers for checking our meat temperature since it is sliced very thin so can't use the probe ones. I do have a reference thermometer (NIST traceable certificate) which i use to calibrate all my other probe thermometers and they all come with their own calibration certificates. Do I need to buy the infrared ones that come with a calibration certificate or should i be good with the certificate and just keep them verifying with the inhouse reference thermometer. My plan is to discard them once they out of calibration and get new ones since it is cheaper that way.
I've used these, as they come with a NIST Cert and have both probe and infrared capabilities, to calibrate all thermometers in house. When an infrared went to far out of spec I would dispose and purchase new as you have stated.
I am about to purchase a few of infrared thermometers for checking our meat temperature since it is sliced very thin so can't use the probe ones. I do have a reference thermometer (NIST traceable certificate) which i use to calibrate all my other probe thermometers and they all come with their own calibration certificates. Do I need to buy the infrared ones that come with a calibration certificate or should i be good with the certificate and just keep them verifying with the inhouse reference thermometer. My plan is to discard them once they out of calibration and get new ones since it is cheaper that way.
Doing the same here. We're using some simple ones from Fischer Sci that have a basic manufacturers certificate, and junk them when they fail a twice-weekly two point verification.
Same opinion as the above. So long as they come with a calibration cert to start, you don't need the expensive ones that can be recalibrated so long as you're verifying them against one that is calibrated. Frequency becomes a factor for in-house verifications, so I'd suggest verification at each shift change. If you go something like weekly, everything checked that past week becomes suspect when an in-house verification fails the following week.
Am i wrong? I don't like IR thermometers for food safety. There seems to be other factors that can effect their accurate use (emissivity settings, distance, environmental factors, etc). I guess if you are testing moving objects there probably isn't another way. but if not, in this case, wouldn't a surface probe be better? I guess it depends on what you are using it for.
like this:
Yes you are right that IR thermometers are less accurate but for our product thats the only option because our meat is sliced very thinly and we check the temperature while its being cooked o a vertical grill.
Yes you are right that IR thermometers are less accurate but for our product thats the only option because our meat is sliced very thinly and we check the temperature while its being cooked o a vertical grill.
I see. That might make more sense then.
Just curious. Do you ever have auditors ask about the emissivity of the product vs what emissivity the thermometer is set to, calibrated at, etc? Ie - has your emissivity factor been validated for the product tested? The emissivity of food and water is probably so close its probably a non issue and probably reflect a less than actual temp, which is obviously safer than higher than actual. or ask about distance or angle of the reading?
You are right, emissivity factor has to be taken into consideration but we are just preparing for our first audit so don't know yet if it could cause a problem
You are right, emissivity factor has to be taken into consideration but we are just preparing for our first audit so don't know yet if it could cause a problem
ok, I was just curious as i have never used them.
I don't recall having auditors or inspectors ask many technical questions about any of our thermometers, or other instruments. Even the district EIAO audit.