Danger in use of shatterproof lamps
Europe’s leading provider of safer lighting solutions, GlassGuard® has warned food manufacturers of the dangers of using non-compliant shatterproof lamps. The warning comes following reports of non-compliant lamps being used by some food manufacturers, which have resulted in failure of Global Food Standard Initiative (GFSI) food safety audits.
Non-compliant shatterproof lamps coated with poor quality polymers, such as PET, Polyester and Polyethylene, offer much lower performance as the plastic coating will break down well before the end of lamp service life. Such polymers will typically last only 5,000 hours (7 months) before going brittle. When installed into IP65 fittings, particularly enclosed versions, non-compliant products break down even more rapidly and, in some severe cases, become a fire hazard due to the low melting point of the coating.
When choosing the correct lamps it is important that food manufacturers and contractors are also aware that non-compliant coatings, which fail well before the standard 20,000-hour service life will not provide any protection, should they accidentally break during routine maintenance.
Non-compliant lamps pose the same risk as unprotected glass lamps - a simple mishandling accident during maintenance can result in thousands of glass and plastic particles being spread over a wide area. The discovery of just one small shard of glass in any food product can have enormous financial ramifications for the food manufacturer and have a highly damaging effect on its brand reputation, or that of its Clients.
Mark Goodwin, commercial director at GlassGuard® says: “You can only manufacture a quality shatterproof coating by using quality fluoropolymers.“Products such as GlassGuard BlackBand® to IEC 61549 (EN 61549) compliant fragment retention lamps have a protective coating which is equal to the lamp service life of 20,000 hours, for all applications.
“Using lamps with shorter life protective coatings of say 5,000 or 10,000 hours, is a major false economy, as they will have to be replaced long before the end of the service life of the actual lamps. Even worse, there is no guarantee of fragment retention at the end of lamp service life.”
GlassGuard® recently welcomed the Guide to Lighting Best Practice for the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, published by the BRC to assist food manufacturing and packaging sites to develop robust systems and procedures which adequately meet the lighting requirements of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety. It also provides guidance on the identification of product classes and non-compliant lamps.
Copies of the Guide to Lighting Best Practice for the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety can be obtained from www.glassguard.co.uk/bestpractice
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