Forum International Food Safety and Quality Network Discussion Forum

Hey all, We recently add a new line that will be making different types of chocolate covered eggs. It has Gracida Met 30+ MD at the end. Which MD test pieces do I use for daily check? LMK if more info needed. Thanks!

I’m looking for some practical advice on a metal contamination issue in our freeze-drying process. I use a Conrad freeze dryer from GEA, where around 11 stainless-steel trays push each other into the drying chamber instead of being moved by a conveyor. Over time, the repeated tray-to-tray impact generates stainless-steel wear particles. I only discovered this issue after about 3 years of operation, and it happens every day, with a relatively stable amount. The particles are small flakes, ranging from about 0.26 mm to 3.67 mm. I collected them directly from the trays during cleaning. They are not attracted to a magnet, although I have not yet confirmed the exact stainless-steel grade by material testing. I can also see scratches/wear marks on the trays at the contact points. The main problem is that the particles can remain attached to the trays during freeze drying and may fall into the product when the dried product is discharged from the trays into a silo (this process is automatic). I currently have a magnet trap after silo discharge and a metal detector before final packaging, but the magnet trap and metal detector cannot reliably detect all of these small stainless-steel particles. I have already replaced the trays, but the problem still occurs. Unfortunately, I cannot redesign the tray-loading mechanism, add a coating, or introduce an additional inspection/cleaning point. Has anyone dealt with a similar stainless-steel wear problem in food or pharmaceutical processing?

Hello everyone, Greetings from Idea Bottles. We work in the glass packaging industry, with a focus on glass bottles and glass jars for food, beverage, cosmetic and other packaging applications. I joined the IFSQN community to learn more about food safety, packaging technologies, quality requirements and industry practices, and also to exchange ideas and experiences with other professionals in the packaging and food industry. I am particularly interested in topics related to glass packaging, food-contact packaging, packaging quality, bottle and closure compatibility, and sustainable packaging solutions. Looking forward to learning from the community and participating in future discussions. Best regards, Idea Bottles

Hello, We are a beverage manufacturer based in the US, we currently use an EPA-registered peracetic acid sanitizer as the final step of our CIP process. At our use levels it is approved as a no-rinse sanitizer, but our procedures involve leaving our process hoses packed with the sanitizer when CIP is complete. We may leave them like this for up to a week. We're now discovering that some of our hoses appear to be degrading and we think it may be due to the extended contact with the sanitizer. Our chemical supplier says this should not be happening but our own testing shows it to be true. We know the sanitizer should be drained, but our hoses are too long to properly drain and get all the chemical out. Even though our sanitizer is no-rinse, would there be anything wrong with doing a final water rinse after sanitizer and leaving the hoses packed with water? I've found lots of conflicting information online and our chemical supplier and hose manufacturers have not been helpful. Thanks for your help!

Hello, I am new to this and our facility has an upcoming AIB GMP inspection/audit. Can anyone share their experience they had with the GMP inspection? any advice or tips on how/what we need to prepare? I'm mostly nervous as this is the first time i am doing this and want to be as prepared as possible.

Hi all :-) Does anybody have any HACCP templates they could share or advise of best websites to use to purchase these? Our company has extremely old HACCP dates and I am wanting to update them all but unsure where best to seek templates that provide all the necessary information.

I'm looking for some insights on evaluating what scope the FDA will expect for my company's Food Safety Plan. Company Overview: We exclusively use Contract Manufacturers and Co-Packers to manufacture our finished product, which is then shipped to contracted storage facilities who then ship our product to Customers. We source all our ingredients, raw materials, packaging, etc, which are sent directly to our Contract Manufacturers and Packers who manufacture and pack our finished-good product, the majority of which are sent to 3rd party cold-storage facilities who send our product to customers through sales orders from my facility. A small amount of the finished product is sent to my facility where it is stored and eventually packed and shipped to customers or for sales samples. My facility does not do any sort of processing or storing of ingredients or finished product. Just receiving, storing, packing and fulfilling DTC orders. Question Does the Food Safety Plan for our small Warehouse with a very limited process scope need to encompass all aspects of our Company processes (including contract manufacturing, extensive supplier approval programs and other programs that don't interface directly with our Warehouse), or should it only reflect the scope of operation activities at our Warehouse? Insights or references greatly appreciated!

Hi, al is it acceptable the emergency door located in changing room? No specific reason for this due to couldn't find a place to locate the production room emergency door.

Hi, al is it acceptable the emergency door located in changing room? No specific reason for this due to couldn't find a place to locate the production room emergency door.

For our plant-based, dry-mix only company, we're currently moving into a facility. As a partition between the food processing area and the room that may become the changing/PPE room, one of those plastic strip curtains is being considered instead of a door. Would that be acceptable to an auditor? I know this may seem like a stupid question so please allow me to give context. When we were touring the facility and I saw exposed waste traps, I said an auditor would never accept that based on the wording of Module 11. However, when the SQF consultant was asked, she said it will be acceptable as long as we can prove it isn't a food safety risk. Basically, it's risk based. Returning to possibly using plastic strip curtains instead of a door between the changing room and processing area, I immediately think no because it doesn't seal and because the plastic would be covered with powder, even with a pouring shield/splash guard on the mixer. But since I was apparently wrong about the waste traps, I feel I might be overthinking it. So would the plastic strip curtain be acceptable to an auditor? Thanks.

For our plant-based, dry-mix only company, we're currently moving into a facility. As a partition between the food processing area and the room that may become the changing/PPE room, one of those plastic strip curtains is being considered instead of a door. Would that be acceptable to an auditor? I know this may seem like a stupid question so please allow me to give context. When we were touring the facility and I saw exposed waste traps, I said an auditor would never accept that based on the wording of Module 11. However, when the SQF consultant was asked, she said it will be acceptable as long as we can prove it isn't a food safety risk. Basically, it's risk based. Returning to possibly using plastic strip curtains instead of a door between the changing room and processing area, I immediately think no because it doesn't seal and because the plastic would be covered with powder, even with a pouring shield/splash guard on the mixer. But since I was apparently wrong about the waste traps, I feel I might be overthinking it. So would the plastic strip curtain be acceptable to an auditor? Thanks.

File Name : Implementing an SQF Food Safety Code Edition 10 Food Safety Management System for Food Manufacturers File Submitter : Simon File Submitted : 25 Sep 2026 File Category : Food Safety Essentials Presentation Slides and Certificate of Attendance from the Food Safety Essentials webinar conducted on September 23, 2026 by Tony Connor, Chief Technical Advisor, IFSQN. You can watch the video recording here . Click here to download this file