NSF Certification for Brewing equipment

[Carlos Yanez]

Hi everybody!!!

I'm in Calvert County Maryland. First Brewery down here (8.5bbl).

Our Health Department is not going to let us brew unless all our tanks are NSF certified. I have information about thickness and the 304 SS used for this particular system fabricated in China, but they don't think it's enough.

Do they have jurisdiction in this matter?

Do you know of any entity out there that regulates or controls the quality and grades of SS or other materials that should be use for brewing?

Why would there be a concern for materials used when beer is and has been made in all kind of open and closed containers from wood to copper...?

Any ideas or leads are highly appreciated.

Carlos
Ruddy Duck Brewery & Grill

[owen williams]

Get them certified then...contact Orsi Dezsi @ NSF. Toll free: 1 800 NSF MARK or dezsi@nsf.org.

Good Luck!

Owen Williams

Successful Brewery Consulting

Mobile: (909) 222-0215

Ph/Fax: (909) 425-5333

Visit us at: www.successfulbreweryconsulting.com

Alt Email: owenbrews@adelphia.net

[beermkr]

Most places defer the jurisdiction to the AG departments. My health inspector was here yesterday and he confirmed that for me also.

Most brewing equipment falls under the Dairy 3-A program. All the triclamps and such are sourced from dairy so it the health department covers dairy in your area then I think they would have the call on it. I expect that they do not though. If you are a brewpub then there is a point in the process where they take over. I believe it is at the connection to the tank unless alcohol is covered by your ABC board.

Just my thoughts....

Mike

[jarviw]

Owen, I thought NSF does not do on-site certification for individual equipment and all products must be certified at the manufacturer? Please let me know if I am wrong.

UL does on-site certification for individual equipment, but if I remember it right, it's $1500/piece.



Carlos, NSF/UL regulation is mostly local regulation, although they usually adhere to State regulation. I wouldn't doubt your local health inspector's right.
But you should try to work with your local health department -- some are necessarily, some aren't. Beer has relatively low health risk (well, let me rephrase it, low sanitary risk, and as much as we like to be good law-abiding citizens, some of the requirements may really not be necessarily for our case. Ask around other brewers in MD, maybe the local guys will let you pass on this one!

[Carlos Yanez]

Thanks Guys,
I called NSF and talked to Orsi.
NSF does not certify on site, only in the manufacturer's facility.
There is no brewery manufacturer in USA or the rest of the world that is NSF certified. That answers my question.
Thanks for your help.

Owen, I thought NSF does not do on-site certification for individual equipment and all products must be certified at the manufacturer? Please let me know if I am wrong.

UL does on-site certification for individual equipment, but if I remember it right, it's $1500/piece.



Carlos, NSF/UL regulation is mostly local regulation, although they usually adhere to State regulation. I wouldn't doubt your local health inspector's right.
But you should try to work with your local health department -- some are necessarily, some aren't. Beer has relatively low health risk (well, let me rephrase it, low sanitary risk, and as much as we like to be good law-abiding citizens, some of the requirements may really not be necessarily for our case. Ask around other brewers in MD, maybe the local guys will let you pass on this one!

[Jester]

I am sure this is not news, it also may not be an easy answer. you may still need a metalurgist to verify material, surface RA and ect.
Field Service Inspections
Occasionally, a public health inspector may come across a piece of food equipment in the field that isn't certified. While such non-certified products are frequently rejected, sometimes there may not be an equivalent unit currently certified. To help address this type of situation, NSF International has developed a Field Service Inspection program.

At the request of the equipment owner or manufacturer, an NSF field auditor can visit the location where the equipment is installed to conduct on onsite inspection. While the auditor cannot actually certify the equipment since it is already in the field, in lieu of certification NSF can evaluate the equipment against the requirements of the applicable standard and issue a report identifying any items of noncompliance. In addition to sending a copy of the report to the requestor, NSF will also send a copy of the report directly to the designated local health official for their records. The regulator can then review the report to help them make a determination whether to accept the equipment, accept it with corrections to the items of noncompliance, or reject the equipment entirely.

For further information about this program or to request a field service inspection, contact Lina Kasyouhanan, Operations Manager - Food Equipment Program, at 1-800-NSF-Mark (ext. 5231) or via email at kasyouhana@nsf.org.

[jarviw]

honestly, I would rather tell the local health department that it's irrelevant and non-applicable than going through all these to get the equipment certified.

SERIOUSLY! call NSF or UL yourself, and you will realize that it simply SHOULD NOT be our duty to get the equipment certified.

UL quoted me $3000 fee to send their engineer for on-site certification, and then $1500 per sticker -- that is, one sticker for each piece of equipment, one for the kettle, one for the mash tun, one for the lauter tun, one for the HE, one for each FV...

Sure and fine if my company has several millions of revenue and it's not my own money, but for a small business start-up doing it just to appease irrelevant local ordinances, it's just plain silly.

Go to Miller or Budweiser and see if their brewhouses have NSF certification.


Again, I would rather work with the local health department and be as compliant as possible, but it's simply hypocritical to tell someone to go through all that without actually knowing what it is all involved.