Fibrous

ViskoTeepak Complaint Approach - Article 1

The word “complaint” initially sounds pretty negative. It’s related to a non-compliant product that should be avoided in any industrial process chain.

What does ViskoTeepak do when a situation like this arises?

Fibrous
2023.12.13
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Does ViskoTeepak receive complaints from our customers?
Can we go public with this information?

Yes, we can, and we do. We are not perfect. Most of the time we can detect the root-cause of the reclamations we receive, even when it must be found externally. Accepting a failure is one thing. Addressing a mistake has an even greater importance when it comes to preventing the same issue from happening again in the future. ViskoTeepak can trace back most of the products by its unique traceability system that includes a detailed process data base in combination with seam marks on our casing. Our tech team also has the capability to link the specific casing properties with the customer’s requirements. This relation must fit in the first place. If something is wrong, the reason must be nearby, and we’ll be able to find it.

 

Most complaints could be divided into the following groups:

  • Customer-related complaints
  • ViskoTeepak-related complaints
  • Operator’s failures
  • Co-incidents

In the following 4 editions we’ll describe random issues that we received in the last decade. Not to blame people, but to make everyone aware and give the tools and knowledge to prevent such mistakes from happening again.

Issue 1 ― Adhesion Issues


Customer 1 has been using Fibrous 055 HP-H for many years without any issues. All of a sudden there were problems with the adhesion. The casing lifted off and did not follow the shrinkage of the sausage. Initially the customer’s reaction was to blame the casing.


The internal process data was analyzed. A filling test with the involved casing in the VT test kitchen showed that it could be excluded that the problem was casing related. All adhesion levels showed 150 Ng peeling force, which is a perfect number.


We did not close the complaint file, but continued to search for the root cause of the problem.


As it seems now the customer bought 25 kg blocks of fat with inconsistent quality. The percentage of soft fat within the blocks combined with a low melting temperature was out of specs resulting in a fat film created between the casing and the sausage surface during the start of heating. This prevented the casing from sticking to the sausage surface.

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Issue 2 ― Adhesion/Peeling Issue


Customer 2 tested a sample of Fibrous REGULAR 091. The test was successful with an emulsified cooked and smoked sausage. After this good result, a relatively big order was placed to cover the casing demand for a longer period.


The approved product was commercialized 6 months later in a different season of the year. The first sausages out of this commercial production showed too much adhesion and the casing was hard to peel off.


Our tech team found out that the local weather during the trials was completely different from the commercial run conditions. Different temperature and humidity changed the product properties, i.e. evaporation, shrinkage, humidity, and the final caliber. This had a negative effect on the adhesion level with the existing casing. Therefore we strongly recommend to include an upscale trial before starting with the commercial volumes.

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Issue 3 ― Peeling Issue


Customer 3 has been using Fibrous EP-H 101 for many years to produce cooked/smoked sausages for in-house slicing. The EP-H worked well. The emulsion was stable, and the casing did not have to include the function to limit fat or gel separation. All of a sudden we received a call that the casing could not be peeled off anymore. After studying the local circumstances, it seemed that a temporary operator did not follow the requested stuffing diameter. The casing was filled to the max, just under the burst pressure. The meat emulsion was pushed hard into the casing. Therefore, the inside easy peel layer did not have the possibility to do its job.
 

After correcting the procedure, the process ran without any issue.

Fibrous

Article Author:
Jos Rutten
Technical Support Manager