The choice to use black natural graphite on bakery and other oven chain applications is typically supported by antiquated schools of thought. Just about all Maintenance, Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Plant Management personnel know that black graphite lubricant is a hazardous product and should NOT be used in any food processing facilities. So why are so many food corporations knowingly using black graphite lubricant?

In the industrial baking and other food processing segments, producers are exposed to regulatory and safety audits more than ever before. There are several bodies that issue and oversee standards designed to implement best practices in the food manufacturing industry. Bodies that provide audits include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The British Retail Consortium (BRC)
• The Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22000 Food Safety Management
• American Institute of Baking (AIB)

Well, there may be many bodies enforcing standards and safe practices, but for the most part, when it comes to safe handling of lubricating fluids, they tend to agree.

 

STOP Using Black Graphite Lubricant on Your Bakery Oven Chain!!!

• Are you still using a black "Graphite" lubricant in your food processing facility?
• Are you hiding your lubricating products during food safety audits?
• Are you aware that black graphite lubricant is harmful, and some consider graphite to be a known carcinogen?
• Did you know that graphite is flammable?

If the answer is yes, then why are you using such a dangerous product??
 

The choice to use a black natural graphite is typically based on its lower cost than food grade lubricant counterparts, or it is a "way it has always been done" mentality, or a recommendation from an equipment OEM. There is no question that graphite is a good dry powder film lubricant that has a molecular structure of loosely layered sheets that provide excellent slippery lubricating properties. But in a world with safety audits, good and cheap is not a substitute replacement for safe and food grade!

In most cases, for bakery oven applications, liquid graphite is applied manually to the chain with a kerosene (or other hydrocarbon) based carrier fluid. Whereas this is an extremely flammable combustible liquid, with a lower flashpoint, typically below 160°F, black graphite lubricant is generally applied manually to a cold oven.

Any Maintenance or Sanitation Manager will say that graphite is messy to work with and when dry can create a graphite powder or dust that somehow seems impossible to clean. In an oven with tremendous amounts of air movement through positive combustion air, negative exhaust air, and circulating air fans (AKA coloraiders) it goes without question that black natural graphite can end up on the bread (or other baked goods) traveling through the oven, and ultimately on the products that end up on the consumers table. We must remember that graphite lubricant is a known carcinogen that, through exposure, can lead to respiratory illnesses. This type of risk should be avoided at all costs!

Is black graphite oven chain oil food grade? Very simply NO!

There is a misinterpretation that graphite and other hazardous industrial grade lubricants can be used in food facilities on process equipment that is not in direct contact with areas where food travels, such as gearboxes on ovens, chains driving cooling conveyors, hydraulics on bowl lifters, proofer chains, etc. The premise that the lubricant can not find its way to food areas is false. This logic is wrong, and Maintenance, Engineering, Sanitation, Quality Assurance, and Plant Management all need to work to shift away from this old way of thinking. There is always a potential for contamination, and Health and Safety committees must work harder to educate food facility personnel that industrial lubricants should NOT be brought into the food manufacturing. This eliminates all possibility of contamination and assures that lubricants stored at the site are all food grade.


How Do You Know a Lubricant is Food Grade?

If a lubricant is food grade, it will meet standards set forth by the NSF H1 registration program. An NSF H1 designation is derived on the standards of the former USDA lubricant authorization program that covered a toxicological assessment and ensure that ingredients used in the lubricant manufacturing process were suitable to FDA 21CFR 178.3570 criteria; including label verification which today must meet the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. To verify if the lubricant you are using is food grade, you can search the NSF White Book - Nonfood Compounds Listing Directory If the product you are using is not listed in the NSF White Book, it is most likely an industrial grade lubricant and not food grade.

Lubricant blenders are pushing the envelope is research and development. Today, food-grade synthetic lubricants perform in the most demanding applications. Manufacturers are developing synthetic oils such as Chain Guard CG-FSG-220-H1 High Temperature Food Grade White Graphite, fortified with anti-wear additives and oxidant inhibitors that optimize the performance and stability of the lubricants. These premium lubricants are designed for use in environments where excellent high-temperature thermal stability and reduced sludge and deposit formation on chains is required.

The next time you look into your lubricant cabinet, think twice about the dangers caused by exposure to graphite lubricant. Food-grade synthetic alternatives are available. Your co-workers and clients deserve to be safe!