7 replies to this topic

[Sara D]

We are a glass bottle juice and kombucha manufacturing plant. During production, glass breakage happens due to the shape of the bottle and the pressure applied to it. It doesn’t usually happen, but per production run, 3-4 bottles (0ut of 20,000 bottles) burst near the filler area. What should the procedure be for this type of glass breakage? Please help me with updating the glass breakage procedure.

We have a glass breakage kit, but I haven’t seen the staff using it; they use regular cleaning equipment for cleaning up glass. Should broken glass be disposed of in a separate bin?

Also, I noticed in the glass breakage form that we are required to retain a sample of the broken glass. Is this mandatory? Since glass breakage happens almost every day, disposing of the equipment used for cleanup isn't economical for a small company like ours. As a small company, it’s challenging to comply with all these requirements.

Sorry for all the questions, but as I am new, I would like to know how other companies follow the glass breakage procedure.

[Dorothy87]

Hi  

 

A few things to consider: 

 

- risk assessment for broken glass - what is the risk of pieces landing on/in other bottles? 

- does the filling line stop during breakage? 

- glass breakage shall be reported and recorded (the best idea is to take photos of pieces) 

- A special glass breakage kit (including bin) shall be used (different colors) to avoid cross-contamination. 

- Staff should be trained on how to clean glass breakage kits preferably by the end of the shift and away from open food contact equipment cleaning sinks (we had a special sink only for glass breakage cleaning equipment kit)  

 

 

[Sara D]

Thank you so much for the information. I will check on these .

[Tony-C]

Hi Sara D

 

With manufacturing a product that is filled into glass, breakages are far more regular than in other types of operations and so dealt with in a different manner typically. It doesn’t sound like the previous poster has worked with a glass filling line, certainly not from a practical point of view. The advice isn't bad, it is just that it should be applied as a separate procedure for other types of glass breakages.

 

You need a procedure for glass container breakages on the production line. Since this occurs 3 - 4 times per production run. I would have a single log where you record of all the container breakages for each production run. You should record the time of each breakage, the product being filled, the batch of glass containers being filled and the number of containers broken etc, I wouldn’t retain a sample (or take a photo) of the broken glass each time since you know it is container glass.

 

You should have breakage procedure which will include:

Stopping the line

Clear the line of product and empty containers

Quarantine and dispose of all the affected open product

If it is possible that product was sealed after the breakage then quarantine and dispose of that too

Clean down all the glass with dedicated equipment for cleaning glass and put in a dedicated glass bin

Clean the cleaning equipment separately after use and check that it is free from glass fragments

Hose down the area

Have an authorised person check the area and actions taken before allowing production to restart

 

Breakages per production run should be monitored and any increase in breakage frequency should be investigated to identify the root cause. This can often be caused by a problem with the line settings or could be due to a poor batch of glass containers with a weakness that is causing more frequent breakages.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

Edited by Tony-C, 11 November 2024 - 05:25 AM.

[Tony-C]

Hi Sara D

 

Sorry, a few things to add:

 

Your procedure will be based on assessing the risk of product/container contamination and you may decide that say, 100 containers either side of the breakage are removed to ensure all possible contaminated containers and product are isolated.

 

Due to the importance of following procedures, this is an area where I would ensure there are regular inspections/internal audits.

 

It is important to keep up-to-date with your complaints so that you can investigate asap those related to container damage or glass fragments which indicate that something is not right with the operation and/or your procedures.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[ChristinaK]

Dorothy and Tony provided good advice. 

 

I would like to add that you have a detailed glass breakage report. When I worked with glass, we had a 2-sided report; 1 side for breakage that occurred on the line or the production room, and 1 side for breakage that occurred in the warehouse. You'll want to be sure to include where the breakage occurred, what the product running was, the time, the lot #, that the area was quarantined, cleaned, and who inspected it and gave the OK to resume operations. I think we also included the info for the glass container, as well (lot #, pallet #, supplier, etc.). If you use multiple suppliers, it can be useful to ID if there's one that provides bottles more likely to break on your production line, and then bring it up to the supplier to troubleshoot why their bottles have issues and others' don't.

 

I don't think a sample of the broken glass is necessary, but I would frequently train your personnel on the procedure and work on ensuring it's enforced. You can use some statistics of recalls that involved broken glass and what it would mean if it happened to your facility. And I agree with Tony that internal audits should check that these incidents are documented correctly.

 

If you are BRC certified, you are also required to trend these incidents so that you can identify any common root-causes. We did this with a simple summary sheet that was filled out each month and included just the area of breakage, production line, date/time, and product and container type. 

Also, If your 3-4 bottles that break are a regular occurrence and just a nature of the bottle or process, you may want to establish a number that would be considered out-of-the-ordinary (ex: 10 bottles out of 20k run) that would trigger an investigation into the cause of the increase in incidents. 

[MDaleDDF]

 

- A special glass breakage kit (including bin) shall be used (different colors) to avoid cross-contamination. 

 I added one of these, and my unannounced audit dropped on me last Monday, and the auditor really liked the entire glass breakage kit.   Not sure why we even have it because no glass anywhere in production, lol, but I guess if I drop a beer in there I'm good to go....
 

[PrplomSolved]

We are a glass bottle juice and kombucha manufacturing plant. During production, glass breakage happens due to the shape of the bottle and the pressure applied to it. It doesn’t usually happen, but per production run, 3-4 bottles (0ut of 20,000 bottles) burst near the filler area. What should the procedure be for this type of glass breakage? Please help me with updating the glass breakage procedure.

We have a glass breakage kit, but I haven’t seen the staff using it; they use regular cleaning equipment for cleaning up glass. Should broken glass be disposed of in a separate bin?

Also, I noticed in the glass breakage form that we are required to retain a sample of the broken glass. Is this mandatory? Since glass breakage happens almost every day, disposing of the equipment used for cleanup isn't economical for a small company like ours. As a small company, it’s challenging to comply with all these requirements.

Sorry for all the questions, but as I am new, I would like to know how other companies follow the glass breakage procedure.

 

In Pharma, the moment we had glass break during the filler operation, we immediately paused the run until all glass could be recouped and placed in a sharps bin/barrel. That being said, this was also an ISO 4 facility, so you might need anything that stringent. We also had our QC/QA team 'investigate' each incident to determine whether the lot as a whole could continue.