WD-40 Specialist in the Food Industry: Handy Tips for Food Processing

In the food processing industry, removing grease and grime to ensure cleanliness is one of the (if not the) most important aspects of an operation. The ability to effectively clean equipment and surfaces is directly tied to compliance with regulations and legislation like the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).

Right next to the importance of cleanliness is the longevity of equipment. The longevity of equipment is important to help provide minimal downtime, maximum production efficiency and overall profitability.

WD-40 Specialist_® products support these two pivotal aspects in the food processing industry.  These products have been developed to help your equipment and machinery in achieving unwavering performance and longevity. But beyond that, it’s also been engineered to be NSF certified, making it an ideal family of products for servicing your food processing equipment.

To get started, what is NSF certification and why is it important in the food processing industry? The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1944. The NSF’s goal is to create and maintain golden standards for food safety and sanitation, promoting public health.

NSF certification serves as a quality assurance indicator that a product- for example, a lubricant, cleaner, or degreaser- meets the strict standards set out by the NSF for safe use around food. Any product that is NSF-certified will flaunt the blue NSF mark, a confirmation of compliance to the standards required for NSF certification.

When you purchase NSF-certified food service products, it means that the product passed numerous NSF tests that relate to material safety, design, construction and product performance. This is a solid indicator that the products are safe to use in food processing facilities.

NSF-certified products are categorized by alphabetical and numerical representations depending on their uses. As an example, lubricants are categorized from H1 to H3. H1 means it's intended for general use in applications where there is potential for incidental food contact; H2 products are used in areas where there is no possibility of contact with food; and H3 products, often referred to as soluble or edible oils, are used to prevent rust on hooks, trolleys and similar conveying equipment. There are various categorizations, including K1 to K6 for solvent cleaners and A1 to A8 for cleaning products. A breakdown of the categorization of NSF-certified products can be found here.

Several WD-40 Specialist_® products are NSF-certified. Some of these products include:

• WD-40 Specialist Penetrant (H2)
• WD-40 Specialist Silicone (H2)
• WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease (H2)
• WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube (H2)
• WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner (K2)

The full list of WD-40_® Brand products that are NSF-certified can be found here. 

By being NSF-certified, WD-40 Specialist products can add value to food processing facilities. Below we will investigate the use of WD-40 Specialist products in this type of environment.

Browse our range of WD-40 Specialist products to find an NSF-certified solution to your food processing challenges.

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In the food processing industry, equipment like conveyor belts, mixers, and packaging gear are subjected to continuous operation. If not properly managed, this demanding use can lead to wear and tear and unplanned breakdowns. This is where WD-40 Specialist steps up.

Equipment Benefits

The food processing industry is synonymous with a wide range of temperatures from cold storage to industrial ovens. To ensure the equipment that needs to perform in these extreme conditions remain operating at their peak, you need a lubricant that can work in both scorching heat and sub-zero temperatures. We recommend using WD-40 Specialist_® Silicone. It is effective in a wide range of temperatures ranging from -100° F to 500° F and helps safeguard hinges, pulleys and moving components like industrial oven doors or conveyor belts in cold storage operations. 

In addition to temperature resistance, it’s also essential to protect equipment from the constant wear and tear of daily use. Our Specialist Silicone is an apt solution for the lubrication of plastic, vinyl, and metal parts, and will guarantee conveyor belts, seals, and hinges continue to function properly.

For metal-to-metal applications, like gears and bearings, WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease is the go-to product. WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease is a heavy-duty lubricant that is engineered for metal-to-metal applications. After application, it leaves behind a rust-inhibiting barrier for protection against corrosion. Its long-lasting formula won't melt, freeze, or run in harsh conditions. It sprays on easily with a thick, protective coating. Use it to protect metal plumbing and HVAC parts in your facility from corrosion.

The range of WD-40 Specialist Products shared here are exceptional solutions for operating machinery, but what about preventative maintenance activities? The range of WD-40 Specialist products also provides fantastic solutions to preventative maintenance procedures like equipment lubrication and tension adjustments in the case of equipment that is belt-driven.

WD-40 Specialist_® Products Improve Preventative Maintenance Activities

Preventative maintenance activities are constrained by having as little time possible allocated to them to ensure short downtime periods. If a maintenance technician were to run into just a single stuck, rusted joint, that can mean the difference between just minutes and hours of downtime if it can’t be addressed quickly.

In instances like these you need WD-40 Specialist_® Penetrant with EZ-REACH Straw.  This product penetrates deep into crevices, threads and seams to break the rust bonds that hold stuck parts together- and it does it twice as fast as competing penetrants. Better yet, its proprietary 8” flexible straw bends and keeps its shape, allowing limitless access to hard-to-reach places. This penetrant leaves behind a protective layer that prevents rust and corrosion from re-forming. It is an apt solution for loosening stuck gears in mixing equipment in a food processing facility.

Get a can of WD-40 Specialist Penetrant with EZ-REACH Straw at a retailer near you.

Where to Buy

 

WD-40 Specialist range of products does more than lubricate joints and break down rust. It also holds a powerful solution for breaking down grease and grime.

To break down grease and grime, there are few products as effective as WD-40 Specialist Cleaner & Degreaser. WD-40 Specialist Cleaner & Degreaser is a water-based, non-flammable, non-aerosol cleaner & degreaser that can break down grease and grime in record time. Its unique bio-solvent formula is engineered to be powerful yet safe for sensitive surfaces. This formula also contains added corrosion inhibitors to help protect against flash rust, which makes it perfect to use on metal surfaces like preparation stations in a food processing facility.

WD-40 Specialist Cleaner & Degreaser has been engineered to align with NSF standards and is NSF-certified as an A1, A2, A4, A8 and B1 product. Its compliance with NSF standards assures it can break down grease and grime safely in any food processing facility. Even better, this biodegradable formulation also meets EPA Safer Choice Standards.

Make sure your equipment is clean while adhering to NSF standards with WD-40 Specialist_® Cleaner & Degreaser

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By implementing the range of WD-40 Specialist products you can ensure equipment brilliance while meeting the food processing industry’s safety standards. Browse our range of WD-40 Specialist products to safeguard the equipment in your food processing facility and make sure you are not halted by grease and grime.