Is your equipment calibrated?

Calibration of equipment plays an important role in food safety, legality and quality. Proactive and routine calibration of key measuring devices and equipment ensures that food is processed accurately and consistently in addition to controlling physical, chemical or microbiological hazards in food production and manufacturing.

When on site with their bakery clients, the team at Beacon Compliance often see the following types of equipment that require calibration; ovens , scales, probes, water meters, magnets. 

Oven Profiling

Do you have underbaked or over baked products, is one side of the oven rack “darker” than the other side? Oven temperature profiling allows the oven to be checked for cold spots and hot spots. Knowing where your cold spots or hot spots within the oven allow you to plan what size products to load at what level in the oven to get an even bake in one go. Hot and cold spots could also indicate that there is an issue with the oven such as heat distribution variations, door seals poorly fitted, vents blocked by carbon build up. If you are finding any of these issues, it may be time to have your oven serviced and calibrated.  Is the gauge on the outside of the oven a true refection of the heat inside?

Water Meters

Accuracy of water meters is important to ensure that recipes are consistent, and that quality is not compromised. How do you carry out this verification check and is it recorded? When was the last time your water meter was checked and can evidence be shown if requested by an auditor? Two out of three bakeries we work with have never verified the dose of the water meter!

Probe Thermometers

Is there a “master reference probe” onsite with a UKAS calibration certificate which is recalibrated annually? One master calibrated probe onsite can be used to verify all other probes onsite. How often are your probes verified? Daily, weekly, monthly – what is sufficient for your process? Where is this recorded? Don’t forget to ensure you calibrate your probes across the scale of temperature that you use your probe for i.e., if cold temperature checks only, then arguably calibration and verification at 0^oC is sufficient as that is the scale where the accuracy is required, similarly, if only used for hot temperatures checking with boiling water only would be sufficient.

Scales and Weights

Scales ensure ingredients are weighed consistently which is important for recipe control and ingredient declarations, they are also important to ensure finished products weights are declared within legal requirements. How are your scales verified? Do you have your own set of verified weights so you can review accuracy of scales regularly?  Do you undertake a 5-point check? Perhaps you also use a contractor that comes to site to service the scales and issue a service certificate having used their own accredited weights? Is this completed annually at a minimum or more often where required?

Metal Detectors

These devices are often linked to being a Critical Control Point within the process.  They should be calibrated by an accredited company or manufacturer at a predetermined frequency. When was the last time your metal detector was calibrated? Do you have a calibration certificate? Are there conformity certificates available for the metal test piece sticks Ferrous, Non-Ferrous, Stainless Steel? How is the metal detector verified? Start, hourly and end of run checks?   

Magnets

Magnets are often found in flour silos and for a range of ingredients to pick up metal foreign bodies. Magnet strength can deteriorate, did you know they can be verified by using a Gauss Meter which measures the strength and direction of a magnetic field. If you have a Gauss Meter has it been calibrated? And if you have magnets, how often are they verified?

When it comes to auditing the control and monitoring of measuring devices, bakeries often fall short in these areas. If you have read this article and have asked yourself “Do we?”, “Should we?” then get in touch and see how Beacon Compliance can help you stay one step ahead.   

Visit our blog and social media pages for more tips and tricks or get in touch with us for a free 15-minute consultation.