Jump to content

  • Quick Navigation
Photo

Getting a kombucha brewery SQF certified

Share this

  • You cannot start a new topic
  • Please log in to reply
4 replies to this topic
- - - - -

TerrySaini

    Grade - Active

  • IFSQN Active
  • 5 posts
  • 0 thanks
0
Neutral

  • United States
    United States

Posted 22 January 2021 - 09:13 PM

Hello everyone, I am a Plant Manager at a Kombucha brewery, we are expanding our operations and moving our processing facility to a new location. Along with that we will be working on getting our facility SQF certified.

I have a couple of questions:-

  1. For our packaging line we pack Kombucha in glass bottles. Do we need a enclosed room with a suspended roof in the area where the bottles are filled ( before putting a cap on) or we can have the packing line in the open warehouse space with a procedure in place to clean the overhead I beams in roof to validate our sanitization process.
  2. For draining waste water and alcohols from the brewing process, we are planning to have trench drains connected to underground CPVC pipes leading to drain .

So my question is - Can a trench drain be made of concrete with epoxy coating on it with a metal grate to cover the drain, is an acceptable form of trench drain system under SQF system?  Thanks in advance. 



SQFconsultant

    SQFconsultant

  • IFSQN Fellow
  • 4,632 posts
  • 1135 thanks
1,126
Excellent

  • United States
    United States
  • Gender:Male
  • Interests:Just when I thought I was out - They pulled me back in!!!

Posted 22 January 2021 - 10:17 PM

Hi Terry,
 
I can answer a couple of your questions - 
 
1. congratulations on going for SQF, that helps everyone involved and gets new business too!
2. Yes, an enclosed room would be good - and while a suspended ceiling is not a specific requirement it does lessen noise from glass bottles. however, I have recently seen a processing line with small nubs of rubber between each bottle and there was very little noise.
3. I have rarely seen a processing line in an open warehouse, you are looking for as serile a room as possible and that just does not do it.
4. Your thoughts on draining design are fine. SQF does not specify the type of draining - but it is audited on drainage itself.
5. I absolutely love Kombucha and can only get one type here, please feel free to send a case. thanks.

  • TerrySaini likes this

All the Best,

 

All Rights Reserved,

Without Prejudice,

Glenn Oster.

Glenn Oster Consulting, LLC -

SQF System Development | Internal Auditor Training | eConsultant

Martha's Vineyard Island, MA - Restored Republic

http://www.GCEMVI.XYZ

http://www.GlennOster.com

 


Thanked by 1 Member:
TerrySaini

Charles.C

    Grade - FIFSQN

  • IFSQN Moderator
  • 20,542 posts
  • 5662 thanks
1,544
Excellent

  • Earth
    Earth
  • Gender:Male
  • Interests:SF
    TV
    Movies

Posted 24 January 2021 - 05:19 AM

Hello everyone, I am a Plant Manager at a Kombucha brewery, we are expanding our operations and moving our processing facility to a new location. Along with that we will be working on getting our facility SQF certified.

I have a couple of questions:-

  1. For our packaging line we pack Kombucha in glass bottles. Do we need a enclosed room with a suspended roof in the area where the bottles are filled ( before putting a cap on) or we can have the packing line in the open warehouse space with a procedure in place to clean the overhead I beams in roof to validate our sanitization process.
  2. For draining waste water and alcohols from the brewing process, we are planning to have trench drains connected to underground CPVC pipes leading to drain .

So my question is - Can a trench drain be made of concrete with epoxy coating on it with a metal grate to cover the drain, is an acceptable form of trench drain system under SQF system?  Thanks in advance. 

 

Hi Terry,

 

I have no idea what Kombucha is but the basic answer to Qu.1 is the standard FS 101 requirement - Risk Assessment.

 

I anticipate that the consequence of the (above) latter in current case is typically answered in Post 2.


  • TerrySaini likes this

Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


Thanked by 1 Member:
TerrySaini

Scampi

    Fellow

  • IFSQN Fellow
  • 5,444 posts
  • 1507 thanks
1,524
Excellent

  • Canada
    Canada
  • Gender:Not Telling

Posted 25 January 2021 - 01:59 PM

i wouldn't put kombucha in a warehouse unless I was filling using a completely automated aseptic filling machine..........too much dust, too many variables, never mind mold spores likely to spoil your batch


  • TerrySaini likes this

Please stop referring to me as Sir/sirs


Thanked by 1 Member:
TerrySaini

nwine

    Grade - Active

  • IFSQN Active
  • 20 posts
  • 4 thanks
7
Neutral

  • Earth
    Earth

Posted 25 January 2021 - 05:11 PM

Hey there, former QA Manager at an SQF-Certified kombucha brewery here. 

 

I'll echo what others have said so far: you'll almost certainly want to do your filling in a room with a drop ceiling. Too much potential for contamination with spoilage organisms, foreign material, etc. This may have been an issue with our bottle supplier or our specific filler, but we dealt with burst bottles in the filler on a semi-regular basis, which would send kombucha and broken glass flying up to 10 feet away - it's a lot easier to spot and remove splatter/glass shards from a white ceiling panel than a wooden beam.

 

Your idea for drainage sounds perfectly fine.

 

Feel free to reach out if any other questions pop up!


Edited by nlamers, 25 January 2021 - 05:11 PM.

  • TerrySaini likes this

Thanked by 1 Member:
TerrySaini


Share this

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users