The smooth operator

CR. As food safety is a top priority in the food and beverage industry, manufacturers must avoid any form of contamination of their product. However, even the best designed machines cannot always rule out incidental contamination by lubricants from leakage, drip, spatter or even human error.

The risk lies in various stages of the process, from raw material collection and transformation, to blending, cooking and packaging, as excess grease can collect on bearings and fall on production, or oil can drip down and contaminate food. Using NSF H1 registered food-grade lubricants reduces the impact of a contamination.

With customers becoming more and more conscious about food safety, today this is not only a matter of public health but also of brand image; whatever the contamination is, beyond the financial cost of a product recall lies the even bigger threat of destroying the brand image.

FS. What types of lubricant are currently used in the industry and why is there variation?

CR. Food-grade lubricants are made of authorised base oils and additives and various technologies are available to produce a food-grade lubricant. For example, base oil can be mineral food-grade white oil, synthetic PAO or PAG oils, food-grade silicone or a mix. These various technologies answer the various application needs encountered in the food and beverage industry. The choice between one product and another depends on the condition in the food plant, and on the characteristics of the specific machine in use, such as running temperature, water presence and loads. NEVASTANE food grade lubricants are using several technologies to answer all applications, while always taking into account the cost efficiency of the solution proposed to our customer.

FS. What considerations should be taken into account when selecting a lubricant for food or beverage processing or manufacture?

CR. There is a wide variety in the processes employed by companies in the food and beverage industry and selecting a food-grade lubricant for each application must address the same rules as in other industries – for example, viscosity required, running temperature, and speed. Some applications or conditions are quite specific to the food industry, among them the presence of juices or water such as in the fruits and vegetables industry, which requires water resistant greases or lubricants. Another example is the frozen foods industry, where the low temperatures involved requires specific grades of synthetic lubricants. The drastic cleaning operations often imply frequent re-lubrication. All these parameters are taken into account when selecting a food-grade lubricant.

FS. What pressures or regulations govern the use of lubricants in the industry in Europe?
CR. Following EU legislation, the use of an HACCP process monitoring system is compulsory in the food and beverage industry. Most certifications, such as BRC, IFS and more recently ISO 22000, impose the use of such a system to ensure that risks have been identified and are under control, with appropriate corrective procedures if a failure occurs. When a risk of contamination by the lubricant is identified, the use of NSF registered food-grade lubricants can reduce the impact of such a contamination. Within the limit of 10ppm food-grade lubricant in the end product, food safety is not jeopardised. The industry in Europe trusts the NSF, based on the US FDA’s regulations, to register food-grade lubricants.

FS. What ongoing research are you involved with to enhance your existing products further or to develop and bring new solutions to the European market?

CR. Our principal research is dedicated to continual improvement of the top level performance of our products for specific applications encountered in the food industry. We also improve specific packaging solutions to make the life of our customers easier; for example, SAFEGARD sprays that use no propellant gas and therefore reduce the dangers of highly flammable sprays. To keep up with European legislation, which banned the use of white oils as release agents in the food industry, we also develop 100 percent vegetable oil, designed for direct contact with foodstuff, such as oils for dividers in the bakery industry and de-moulding oils for the biscuits industry.

FS. What do you believe distinguishes your offerings from any other company in this field and what strategies or aims do you work towards to ensure you maintain that competitive edge?

CR. Our mission is not only to provide the food and beverage industry with the best performance and cost-effective products, but also services. Most customers ask us for advice on which product is best suited to their application and the best way to use it. We propose specific training as well as audits to either help our customers identify their contamination risks or to improve the performance of one specific machine through lubrication management. With our new maintenance software, TIG XP5 FOOD, dedicated to the food and beverage industry, our customers can take a step forward with their maintenance efficiency.