Cross Contamination

Modified on Saturday, 31 January 2015 03:55 PM by mpieler — Categorized as: Consultants Corner

Cross contamination
Vol. 22 #1, May 1995

In compounding operation with multiple lines and diverse products, and average production runs from 1,000 to 100,000 pounds/lot, cross contamination can be a real problem. When changing the over the line from one product to another, it is essential to take time for thorough clean up of the equipment in immediate peripheral area. This includes not only the feeders, mezzanine, compounder, downstream equipment, but also paying attention to parts of the building structure. It is not uncommon to have settling of dust, fines, and powers to accumulate on the beams, ducts, pipes, and conveying lines. If not properly cleaned before startup, these fines/powers can break loose due to vibration or air movement and wind up in the finished product, or gaylord. Good manufacturing practice is to pay attention to details. It is good practice to have containers for finished product covered at all times. To minimize contamination, one thing you should avoid is to pick 20,000 lbs. of pellets by hand.

- S. Jakopin

See also:
Return to Consultants' Corner