Case Study - DataTrace · Case Study Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC. Background Stonewall...

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Mesa Laboratories, Inc. 12100 W. 6th Avenue Lakewood, CO 80228 USA Tel: +1-303-987-8000 www.MesaLabs.com Case Study Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC. Background Stonewall Kitchen, LLC, is a manufacturer of sauces and marinades. They hot-fill bottles and jars, normally reaching temperatures greater than 180 °F. Before they can produce and sell any new or existing products, their local process authority, the University of Maine, will review their process to deem whether it is acceptable or not. This requires Stonewall to produce data to show they are following FDA mandates on how their products should be processed in order to be safe. This data includes the pH, length of time, and temperature changes over time in the bottle as it passes through the pasteurizer and cooling tunnel. To show the local process authority they are meeting temperature requirements and the cool off period is appropriate for the sauce, Stonewall uses DataTrace data loggers from Mesa Labs. They perform the hot fill process with a data logger situated at the bottom of the bottle or jar. They consistently test the temperatures and verify that the starting temperatures reflect the measured temperatures coming out of the filling head by using a calibrated thermometer. Doing this, they expect to see the initial product temperature reach at least 180 °F. The Challenge Stonewall expects to see small, incremental reductions in temperature as the bottle or jar cools; however, in this case, they were seeing rapid drop off and initial temperatures below 180 °F. During the process, they were not getting the readings they were expecting. With the loggers cooling off more quickly than they should, sometimes as much as 20 °F in a matter of minutes, they sent the loggers into Mesa’s labs to be tested. In Mesa’s labs, the AS-Found data showed that the data loggers were working properly, so our team thought there would be another problem that needed to be addressed. Our DataTace Product Manager, Bradley Pickard, and Failure Analysis Technican Tim Khulgen, spoke with Stonewall Kitchen’s R&D Manager to determine the root of the incorrect readings they were experiencing at their facility. It was then discovered that they were using a type of glass bottle with a thicker bottom, which caused the data logger to lean against the side of the jar and move around during the hot-fill process. Their incorrect readings were coming from the data loggers reading the temperature of the sauce near the glass, where the heat per glass surface area causes greater temperature loss. The Solution As the data loggers were not sitting upright in the jars during the hot fill process, which is required for proper temperature recordings in this situation, we discussed developing custom retainers that would be used to mount their data loggers in the geometric center of their bottles and jars. The geometric center is critical in this application because the edges of these bottle or jars can cool too quickly, giving an inaccurate representation of what the product is actually doing during the hot fill and cooling processes, which is what we were seeing with Stonewall. The improper mounting of the data logger lead to what seemed like malfunctioning loggers. Using custom retainers in these cases allows the loggers to collect the accurate data that the facility is looking for. Rev. 02AUG2016

Transcript of Case Study - DataTrace · Case Study Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC. Background Stonewall...

Page 1: Case Study - DataTrace · Case Study Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC. Background Stonewall Kitchen, LLC, is a manufacturer of sauces and marinades. They hot-fill bottles and jars,

Mesa Laboratories, Inc.12100 W. 6th AvenueLakewood, CO 80228 USA

Tel: +1-303-987-8000www.MesaLabs.com

Case Study

Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC.

BackgroundStonewall Kitchen, LLC, is a manufacturer of sauces and marinades. They hot-fill bottles and jars, normally reaching temperatures greater than 180 °F. Before they can produce and sell any new or existing products, their local process authority, the University of Maine, will review their process to deem whether it is acceptable or not. This requires Stonewall to produce data to show they are following FDA mandates on how their products should be processed in order to be safe. This data includes the pH, length of time, and temperature changes over time in the bottle as it passes through the pasteurizer and cooling tunnel.

To show the local process authority they are meeting temperature requirements and the cool off period is appropriate for the sauce, Stonewall uses DataTrace data loggers from Mesa Labs. They perform the hot fill process with a data logger situated at the bottom of the bottle or jar. They consistently test the temperatures and verify that the starting temperatures reflect the measured temperatures coming out of the filling head by using a calibrated thermometer. Doing this, they expect to see the initial product temperature reach at least 180 °F.

The ChallengeStonewall expects to see small, incremental reductions in temperature as the bottle or jar cools; however, in this case, they were seeing rapid drop off and initial temperatures below 180 °F. During the process, they were not getting the readings they were expecting. With the loggers cooling off more quickly than they should, sometimes as much as 20 °F in a matter of minutes, they sent the loggers into Mesa’s labs to be tested.

In Mesa’s labs, the AS-Found data showed that the data loggers were working properly, so our team thought there would be another problem that needed to be addressed. Our DataTace Product Manager, Bradley Pickard, and Failure Analysis Technican Tim Khulgen, spoke with Stonewall Kitchen’s R&D Manager to determine the root of the incorrect readings they were experiencing at their facility. It was then discovered that they were using a type of glass bottle with a thicker bottom, which caused the data logger to lean against the side of the jar and move around during the hot-fill process. Their incorrect readings were coming from the data loggers reading the temperature of the sauce near the glass, where the heat per glass surface area causes greater temperature loss.

The Solution As the data loggers were not sitting upright in the jars during the hot fill process, which is required for proper temperature recordings in this situation, we discussed developing custom retainers that would be used to mount their data loggers in the geometric center of their bottles and jars. The geometric center is critical in this application because the edges of these bottle or jars can cool too quickly, giving an inaccurate representation of what the product is actually doing during the hot fill and cooling processes, which is what we were seeing with Stonewall. The improper mounting of the data logger lead to what seemed like malfunctioning loggers. Using custom retainers in these cases allows the loggers to collect the accurate data that the facility is looking for.

Rev. 02AUG2016

Page 2: Case Study - DataTrace · Case Study Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen, LLC. Background Stonewall Kitchen, LLC, is a manufacturer of sauces and marinades. They hot-fill bottles and jars,

Custom retainers are thin wires custom bent with a cradle for the data logger to clip into to hold it upright in the geometric center of the bottle or jar. They can be customized for wider, squatter containers so the data logger does not move around as much. They are customizable to each bottle or jar shape, so that we can be sure they fit into that specific bottle or jar, and their flexibility allows them to fit through the mouth of the container and spring into the needed shape once inside of it.

For Stonewall, we requested samples of the bottles they were using so we could create a custom solution for their facility. Before sending them their new accessory, our team created their custom retainer and ran tests with samples to verify they would work properly with their process. We collected accurate data from the samples and provided proven results to Stonewall to show how the custom retainers would work for their process and bottle at their facility.

This was their response upon receiving the sample results:

Wow, what a difference! And I assume that the temperature data on the right side of the Measured Data report is the unit in the retainer? Great job guys! My faith in humanity is restored!Many thanks,Jeffrey CousminerR&D Manager | Stonewall Kitchen, LLC.

Mesa Laboratories, Inc.12100 W. 6th AvenueLakewood, CO 80228 USA

Tel: +1-303-987-8000www.MesaLabs.com

Case StudyFigure 4 is data that was collected from a hot fill (pour) of sauce right after it was heated to about 205 °F. The logger represented by the data in red was placed in the bottom of the bottle, while the logger represented by the green was placed in the geometric center of the bottle using the retainer pictured in Figure(s) 1/2/3. The bottom and sides of the bottle appear to wick heat rather quickly away from the sauce in that area, as well as cool the logger artificially compared to the center of the bottle.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Figure 4