H1 (food-grade) lubricants commonly used in the food industry are regulated as indirect additives by the FDA.  Although modern equipment has been designed to minimize transfer of lubricants during processing and packaging, incidental food contact can still occur resulting from leaks in lubrication systems or over-application.  However, there is a lack of data for FDA to determine whether safety issues in the aspect of chemical contamination should be addressed concerning the use of H1 lubricants in the production of foods.  In this study, the transfer of Petrol-Gel lubricant from a hydraulic piston filler into a semi-solid model food was determined at conventional operating conditions.  Xanthan gum solutions with concentrations of 2.3% at 25°C and 1.9% at 50°C were used to simulate the viscosity of ketchup at 50°C (970 cP).  Analytical methods to quantify aluminum (a tracer compound) in both Petrol-Gel and xanthan gum solutions were successfully developed and validated by using ICP-MS combined with a microwave-assisted acid digestion technique.  A total of 1.35 g of Petrol-Gel was applied to four ring gaskets in the filler, and each 50 g sample of xanthan gum solution was collected into a 100-mL plastic tube during 500 filling cycles at 25 and 50°C.  Results showed that the concentrations of Petrol-Gel transferred into xanthan gum solutions at each filling cycle ranged from 1.6 to 63.5 ppm at 25°C and from 1.6 to 35.0 ppm at 50°C.  In general, the transfer of Petrol-Gel was significantly higher at 50°C than at 25°C.  The concentrations of Petrol-Gel in 3 samples at 25°C and 12 samples at 50°C were higher than the current FDA’s regulatory limit of 10 ppm.  However, the average concentrations of Petrol-Gel in xanthan gum solutions at 25 and 50°C were calculated to be 2.84 and 4.1 μg/g, respectively.

H1 lubricant transfer from a hydraulic piston filler into a semi-solid food system

ACS Fall 2021

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