Air Testing for Food Safety, Diesel Fuel Exhaust
Hello All,
I am trying to determine what contaminants in Diesel Fuel Exhuast pose a threat of
cross contamination to Flour. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Hello All,
I am trying to determine what contaminants in Diesel Fuel Exhuast pose a threat of cross contamination to Flour. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Hi ABN,
Unusual query.
Can you elaborate slightly on why diesel fume is impacting yr flour ?. Preferably to be avoided.
I imagine the contaminants are mainly chemical (oil,oil-related,water,CO, CO2, additives, etc) perhaps with some random microbiological (???) and physical ("soot").
Hi Charles,
The forklifts and transportation trucks operating in our warehouse are diesel powered.
I am concerned that the high level of exhuast may possibly lead to cross contamination
of the finished product. In oder to validate the concern, I am interested in testing
the product in storage to determine if in fact any components of the exhaust are being absorbed.
Odds are unless there is an impermeable layer in the packaging the flour will absorb whatever contamination is in the air
Can you not switch to electric? or Propane forklifts.....something that burns cleaner or not at all
https://www.google.c...txbBjOl6rVoKk9w
Alternatively you need to move enough air out constantly that any exhaust is removed from the space as it is produced. Do the transport truck loading docks not have a bumper to prevent outside contaminates from entering in the first place?
Don't analyze the issue----remove it
Yes, these are great ideas.
However without test results to prove that
the contaminants are absorbed by the product, how can one
validate the need for change to management?
Yes, these are great ideas.
However without test results to prove that
the contaminants are absorbed by the product, how can one
validate the need for change to management?
Offhand i would suggest the validation is commonsense.
But from a purely risk assessment POV, as per Post4, is the product under discussion exposed to the environment ?
Product is stored in both paper and polyethelyne bags, sealed, stacked on pallets and stored
on the warehouse floor. The exhaust from the trucks is at the entrance to the warehouse
which is fully enclosed...except for the entrance of course. The forklifts move in, out and around the
product almost the entire day loading product onto the trucks.
The wind blows inward of the warehouse, we do have some fans in place....blowing in the opposite direction
From a scientific point, diffusion can easily take place across the boundry of the bag...
The difficulty is in proving the absorbtion of exhaust is taking place.
What do I test for and how do I test it?
Since you are trying to prove that the flour is being affected by airborne contaminants, you could try doing sensory testing on the flour.
Sensory testing can be more sensitive than doing chemical testing and it will be cheaper too.
You might be able to taste or smell diesel-mediated taints in flour that has been exposed. You could even create some 'worse case' samples by giving them extra exposure to diesel fumes. If you can show that the taste - and therefore quality - of the flour is being affected then that might convince management to stop using diesel-powered forklifts.
Hi ABN,
I deduce yr product is never "exposed" (unless you have frequent breakages?). Nonetheless i deduce the impact of the exhaust fumes is effectively continuous through the working day (and probably onwards). IMO this vector is difficult not to regard as a potential contamination hazard.
By "commonsense" in my previous post, i basically meant "GMP" which is the fundamental hygienic necessity to be maintained in a food handling situation. If yr Management are prepared to be oblivious to basic GMP requirements i fear yr task will be a difficult one (see later below).
I agree with Karen that sensory testing is yr first line of evaluation however i anticipate that you will have already done this and failed to detect any significant difference ? You might directly investigate for the product some easily checked chemical properties like pH (CO2 is acidic) effects. Detailed external laboratory analysis (if available?) for specific contamination features in the air/product such as I previously mentioned is possible but likely to be not inexpensive. You would obviously need to supply a (dummy) "good" product control sample also.
Returning to the GMP POV here is the Global Kraft requirement for use of forklifts in food storage -
7.8. Storage
7.8.1. Fork lift trucks (FLT) shall be in good repair, clean, free from leaks. FTL utilized inside a facility shall preferably be electric powered. Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)(Propane) is acceptable. Gasoline or diesel powered FTL only allowed to be used outside facility
Global Warehouse Requirements,2016.pdf 534.66KB 33 downloads
Other forum threads on forklift requirements elaborate on the above quote ,eg -
http://www.ifsqn.com...iven-forklifts/
(eg Post 3)
http://www.ifsqn.com...acturing-areas/
Additionally, the attached checklist contains -
3.11 No gasoline/diesel driven forklift.
warehouse inspection checklist,.pdf 39.54KB 27 downloads
PS - and one more -