Lubricants and the Food and Beverage industry

By Shell Lubricants

The food industry and raw materials suppliers from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries are putting more and more pressure on lubricant manufacturers to develop and recommend special lubricants for the processing of foodstuffs.

New, more demanding legislation and higher hygiene standards, such as the HACCP concept (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) are making it possible to identify with greater clarity those lubricating points where there is a risk of contamination with foodstuffs. Such critical points should be lubricated exclusively with food-compatible lubricants that comply with current legislation.

At the same time, these lubricants must obviously also perform their original function: the lubrication of machinery and components, heat dissipation, wear protection, friction reduction, corrosion protection and so on. Components such as line lubricators, slide and roller bearings, chains, compressors, vacuum pumps, gearing, heat transfer systems, hydraulics, pumps and slideways are also to be found everywhere in the food industry.

Machinery and equipment in the food industry do not in principle differ from those used in other branches of industry, but the environmental influences acting upon them may be considerably more complex. One example would be the daily washing of machinery with substances, which in some cases may be aggressive and used under high pressure, contamination with highly active substances (fruit juices) and the influence of extreme temperature fluctuations, from the shock cooling system to the waffle oven.

They are also liable to more regulations about what kind of lubricants need to be used where in the production line. If the lubricant in a machinery part could come into incidental contact with the food product then food grade lubricants need to be used. Many leading branded food & beverage producers now use only food grade in the food production area to remove this risk and to comply completely with EU regulations. An example of where food grade lubricant should be used as shown below:

Gearboxes above conveyor belt where food product is

High pressure hydraulic hoses in vicinity of production line

Specialist knowledge and practical experience are very important to allow the best possible lubricant to be recommended and the maintenance intervals for lubrication to be specified, the latter being tailored to the particular application and the environmental conditions. Oil change intervals depend more on contamination of the lubricant than on the reduction of its lubrication properties due to the degradation of additives, or the oxidisation of the lubricant.

The food market and the market for food-compatible lubricants
Quality, hygiene and product liability are exceptionally important matters in the food, drink and pharmaceutical industries. Large sums are invested to give a brand a high profile in the consumer goods sector, but a good reputation can be quickly ruined by the negative publicity generated by a product recall and this often has drastic financial consequences.

According to most regional legislation, a food manufacturer remains liable unless he can demonstrate that he has taken every conceivable step to prevent food contamination. The Government will monitor all food manufacturers to ensure they comply with regional and European statutory regulations.

The local authorities also have a joint responsibility for the safety of any food finding its way onto the market. New regulations in the body of laws known as the Food Hygiene Regulations of the Consumer Goods Act have been in force since 31 December 1995. One major aspect of these regulations, which were derived from European Directive 93/43/EEC, is the introduction of the HACCP concept (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), which is based on the US model. This process monitoring system is used to allow critical points in the preparation, packaging and distribution process chain to be identified and controlled.

Another important European basis is Directive 89/392/EEC of 14 June 1989: the EHEDG (European Hygienic Equipment Design Group) Regulation on the Design of Machinery for Food Processing Purposes.

As there is no European standard for food-compatible lubricants, it is normal practice to use the US standards issued by the FDA (US Federal Food and Drug Administration) and the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). The USDA ceased registration of lubricants in 1998, and this function was taken over by the private institution NSF International (previously known as the National Sanitation Foundation. It is recommended when selecting a supplier for food grade lubricants that the products should be NSF registered and also increasingly ISO 21469 certified. The labels should carry some of the following marks.

ISO 21469 Certified

The food market is one of the most innovative markets, and continues to face very strong competition. Quality and productivity are therefore exceptionally important. This branch of industry is growing year after year in line with growth in the population. In Europe the market is growing by about 5% per year, with fluctuations of between 2% and 6%.

The food processing industry is the third largest industry in the European Union, employing some 2.7 million people in over 26,000 companies.

Food manufacturers and the fear of loss of image or collateral damage
Rather sadly, in addition to increased statutory requirements it is such fears that in recent years have provided the major impetus to food manufacturers to invest a great deal of money and energy in developing safer procedures. This is not surprising when one considers what can happen when a well-known company suddenly finds itself getting negative headlines in the media.

The fact that lubricants definitely play a major part in the overall picture is showed by the following reports from the US and Europe:

“Sliced Turkey Products Contamination With Oil” Food manufacturer in Kansas City recalls 40,000 kg of sliced turkey, which may be contaminated with (non-food grade) lubricants.

“USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service recalls products” Sliced and packaged turkey products contaminated with non-food compatible lubricant.

“Oil in baby food”A random inspection showed that a can of baby food was contaminated with a harmful lubricant.

“Sunflower Oil – Contamination with mineral oil from Ukraine” Sunflower oil produced in Ukraine was contaminated with mineral oil and dispatched to several European Countries.

The whole of the food industry naturally lives in fear of such reports and product recalls, and has not been idle over the past decade. Procedures have been and continue to be optimised on an ongoing basis, higher safety standards have been set, and suppliers are also being included in the procedures.

The legislators have also reacted and strict requirements have produced distinct improvements in safety.

Requirements for lubricants used in the food and drink industry
The requirements for lubricants are not governed exclusively by technical considerations.

It must also be borne in mind that

• Machinery and facilities are developed and built on the basis of hygiene considerations. The lubricant should be regarded as an element in the design here, and it is entirely possible that the requirements placed on it may deviate from the normal industry standard (HACCP, EHEDG, EU, ISO and local guidelines)

• The formulation chemist is severely restricted by the limited number of permitted additives and base oils available, and as a consequence it may not always be possible to achieve maximum performance (FDA, USDA, NSF)

• Other bodies and institutions may restrict further the use of lubricant components (kosher, Halal, associations for gas and water).

Requirements of machinery manufacturers and customer applications
Component suppliers and machinery manufacturers are also setting the same requirements as those listed above as standards and restrictions regarding the quality and quantity of additives and base oils for the formulation of food-compatible lubricants. Another factor not to be underestimated is the range of application of the products on the customer’s premises, which should be regarded primarily from the point of view of the environmental influences present.

The majority of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are now recommending lubricants that meet international standards such as ISO, DIN, IP and ASTM. These requirements must also meet the legal requirements with lubricants for the food industry. Contact with the OEMs is therefore very important, because they frequently insist upon additional proprietary tests or specifications

Producing food-compatible lubricants
As food-compatible lubricants do not as a rule differ fundamentally from standard mineral oil-based products, the same production facilities can usually be used (liquid lubricants and greases).

However, it is quite clear that during the manufacture of food-compatible lubricants more stringent rules are applied in order to achieve the greatest possible purity and avoid cross-contamination.

According to the current standard, food-compatible lubricants are only produced in those parts of a production facility (conduits, mixing vessels, bottling plant), which are certified according to ISO 9001 / 14001 (see photos below)

Facility for the exclusive production Bottling plant for food-compatibleof food-compatible lubricants lubricants

A number of lubricant manufacturers have even carried out a CCP (Critical Control Points) analysis, and use food-compatible lubricants to lubricate their own equipment. In addition, at least one manufacturer applies a special so-called GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) in its certified facilities, which from our point of view is the most progressive way to produce food-compatible lubricants.

In recent years a project has been launched by various bodies, which will allow lubricant manufacturers to undergo an HACCP audit by an independent body and have themselves officially registered.

One of the intentions of this project is that it should be possible for an independent body to take and analyze samples of lubricants directly from the market.

The NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute), the ELGI (European Lubricating Grease Institute) and the EHEDG and NSF are in charge of this.

It is quite obvious that this would represent a further step towards “clean food”, and food manufacturers have received it very well.

Effectiveness of lubricants for the food industry
This point continues to be the subject of discussions, especially between users or OEMs and lubricant manufacturers. Depending on geographic location, the prevailing opinion is that lubricants for the food industry do not come up to the performance levels of standard lubricants, that more problems of wear and tear occur and that, generally speaking the usable life of an oil filling is reduced.

Admittedly, it may have been true about twenty years ago, when practically only white oils were used as base fluids.

Today, however, synthetic base oils (polyalphaolefins) are increasingly being used, and considerable progress has also been made in the refining of white oils. As a consequence of this, coupled with the fact that formulation chemists are able to work according to much improved principles, modern lubricants for the food industry can no longer be regarded as inferior in any way. The synthetic lubricants in particular now achieve performance profiles at least as high as those of conventional synthetic lubricants, if not higher.

Conclusion
The requirements placed on lubricants by the food and drink industry can ultimately be split into two categories:

• Requirements for the product in terms of purity, smell, taste, colour and toxicity, and for the developer/manufacturer regarding expertise and conscientiousness including legal requirements of governments and associations

• Requirements for the equipment manufacturer with regard to the relevant standards and the practical application by the customer.

The general rule is: “Lubricants (oils and greases) must not have any adverse effects on foodstuffs.”

This means that lubricants, which may accidentally come into contact with products intended for consumption as a result of leaks, which are not always technically avoidable, or unsuitable design of equipment or machinery, must be food grade.

Note
The term ‘Shell Lubricants’ collectively refers to Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business. Shell lubricants companies are global leaders in branded finished lubricants and market Shell lubricants in approximately 120 countries worldwide. They manufacture and blend products for use in a range of applications from consumer motoring to food processing and heavy industry to commercial transport. Shell’s portfolio of lubricant brands appeals to top tier and mass market consumer segments and includes Pennzoil®, Quaker State®, Shell Helix, Shell Tellus, Shell Cassida, Shell Rimula, Shell Spirax, Tongyi, a portfolio of car care products and Jiffy Lube® and Shell Autoserv services.