UK: Lubricating the Halal Food Market

Focusing on the role of food-safe lubricants in Halal food production and ensuring machinery is contamination-free and fully functional.

The growing Halal food market means factory managers need to pay attention to more issues, such as adjusting production lines, potential contamination sources, and selecting food-grade lubricants for equipment and machinery.

This demand can be partly attributed to the growth of the Muslim population, which currently numbers about 1.8 billion, and moreover, many non-Muslim consumers choose to buy Halal products as part of a lifestyle pursuing healthy diets and compliant food.

The problem is that not all factories can keep up with the flexible demand for Halal food.

Because if food and beverages contain pork, blood, carrion or alcohol, they are non-Halal, all preparation and handling areas must eliminate the risk of contamination.

Therefore, from slaughter and handling to production and packaging, the entire process has strict requirements for machinery and equipment.

As with all food production environments, frequent customized large-batch product production and production line changes can cause mechanical components, such as gearboxes and bearings, to fail prematurely.

One of the main causes of equipment failure is poor lubrication.

To make matters worse, the food and beverage industry requires food-grade lubricants.

This means they need to meet the industry standard NSF H1 rule, which limits the amount of accidental contact that may occur to a traceable level, usually in the range of ten parts per million. Any amount exceeding this range is considered unsafe.

Most food-grade greases and lubricating oils available on the market sacrifice performance to meet this safety standard. When these lubricants are exposed to high loads, high temperatures and contaminants such as water, acids and particulates, they break down quickly and promote microbial growth, becoming a dangerous source of food contamination.

To ensure this does not happen, factory managers need to adopt a methodical approach to lubricant maintenance. Before treating food machinery with the correct lubricant, it is important to effectively clean and remove the used lubricant.

To help mechanical maintenance engineers, NCH Europe has developed a cleaning solution called a flushing agent. This gearbox cleaner dissolves gear oil deposits, neutralizes acidic substances, cleans metal surfaces, and prepares for the next use of lubricant.

Once the gearbox is ready, engineers can use NCH Europe's top blend CS FG, a calcium sulfonate food-grade gear lubricant containing an adhesive polymer that allows it to adhere to metal surfaces and not be washed away by high-temperature steam and condensate in food production.

Some equipment, such as bearings, requires grease rather than lubricating oil. NCH Europe has also developed a food-grade grease called K Plex White. Like the adhesive polymer, it also contains shock-load reducers and extreme-pressure agents to cushion impacts and reduce stress, vibration and shaking under heavy loads.

As the global Halal food market continues to grow, factory managers can no longer rely on traditional methods.

By closely monitoring maintenance cycles, downtime and lubricants, they can successfully adapt to the changing demands of the Halal market.