ROCOL® ACCREDITATION GIVES FOOD MANUFACTURERS PEACE OF MIND ON AUDIT TRAIL

Leading food-grade lubricants manufacturer ROCOL has made it even easier for food, drink and clean industry manufacturers using FOODLUBE® to pass retailer, EFSIS and BRC audits by becoming the UK’s first ISO 21469 certified lubricants producer.

The globally recognised ISO 21469:2006 certification ticks an important box for auditors as it provides credible, independent assurance that all ROCOL® products are formulated, manufactured and supplied hygienically and safely. For any food and drink manufacturer using FOODLUBE lubricants, especially those reliant on leading retailers through long-term contracts, this provides a vital first step towards conforming with major supermarket, European Food Safety Inspection Service and British Retail Consortium audit requirements.

Products in the FOODLUBE range are already NSF-H1 registered, which specifies the hygiene requirements for the formulation, use and handling of lubricants that may incidentally come into contact with products during manufacture.
ISO 21469:2006 builds on the product-specific NSF-H1 standard to represent another important layer of safety approval. It means that products are manufactured to stringent recipe and hygiene standards using good manufacturing practices, dedicated equipment and strict handling procedures.

Each product is hygiene assured as it has been independently verified by an NSF inspector and tested in their laboratories. It is then deemed safe for incidental food contact and certified as being manufactured only from FDA listed ingredients which are free from animal derived materials, nut oils, soya, dairy and genetically modified ingredients.

Brendan Kendrick, UK sales director at ROCOL®, says, “We are committed to helping UK food and drink manufacturers achieve excellence in safe, food-grade manufacturing which is why we have invested in securing the ISO 21469:2006 certification. It means complete audit trail peace of mind for manufacturers who benefit by being able to prove that the lubrication products used throughout their processes have been subjected to stringent and rigorous hygiene and safety testing.

“It is the perfect complement to NSF-H1 because it demonstrates all FOODLUBE products are formulated, manufactured and designed to be stored and used within an approved hygiene strategy which has accounted for all chemical, physical and biological hazards. We are also required to inform all our NSF-H1 lubricant customers about the hygiene requirements for products in-use.

“Securing ISO 21469 formalises our already excellent processes and recognises the application and usage expertise we provide to our customers through services like our lubrication management programme ROCOLcare®. The certification keeps us at the forefront of safety and service and maintains our position as the UK’s leading food-grade lubricants manufacturer.”

As part of its ISO 21469 certification, ROCOL® provides risk assessments in the use of lubricants, conducts factory audits, helps customers develop and police effective quality assurance procedures and monitors product composition through ongoing sampling and retesting.

Visit ROCOL® at the FOODex exhibition 2012. Stand number N323.