Are wire brushes allowed in a packing area?

Dear all,

I need an information: we usually use wire brushes in packing area, but it is not allowed by the BRC standard. Is there an alternative to this? I check them every shift...is it sufficient?

Many thanks, Michela

Ciao Michela, e benvenuta :)

I'm not too sure exactly what the BRC standard says specifically about wire brushes, if it is directly prohibited the you should stop using them altogether. However I suppose it would also depend what area they are used in and what they are used to clean, and whether you have a metal detection process that would pick up any stray wires.

Even if checked, I'm sure it would be very hard to determine if any bristles are missing, therefore for peace of mind I would simply exchange them with hard plastic brushes or a different cleaning method if possible.  Can you provide more info? 

Dear michela78,

If you have a metal detector you can cut some brush pieces of different length, check them with your metal detector and find out what the smallest piece you can detect is. During the trial you also need to check the sensitivity of the metal detector (I have Mettler Toledo and it allows to adjust the sensitivity). Put all the information in some kind of a trail protocol and save it on file (you can also save these brush pieces). I would recommend to move to brass brushes, as it doesn't corrode and at the same time it's easier to detect by a metal detector.

Show the protocol to the auditor and maybe he/she will be satisfied if there is no alternatives but to use metal brushes in the packaging area (as I have the same situation).

Regards,

Constantine

There is nothing in the BRC standard which specifically excludes wire brushes.  If you have a flow wrapper you will need a wire brush and it may have to be brass rather than something more detectable.  Sorry guys, I know, not great but heat sealing heads need cleaning and nothing else does it.

What I would suggest if you need one is that at the start and end of shift it is "signed out" to a specified person who checks the condition of the brush, then every time it is used you could (if you need to from a food safety point of view) record the time and a check to ensure the area is free from metal contaminants.  But it all comes down to risk assessment.  If someone says in an audit "they're not allowed"
Just ask "where does it say that in the standard?"