In food manufacturing, the risk of contamination from machinery lubricants is a serious threat to food safety.

Nampak wanted to switch to food grade lubricants to reduce this risk and become food grade compliant. “We recognized there was a risk and did something about it because we take responsible production very seriously,” says Simon Short, Plant Manager.

Initially, they were uncertain about the equipment performance they would achieve using food grade lubricants compared to that of conventional lubricants. 

Seeking reliable insights on the most appropriate lubricant to use, Nampak turned to its trusted authorized Petro-Canada Lubricants distributor, Lubricants South West, for advice. “Trusting your distributor is important,” observes Short. “If you have that, and can prove results, the decision almost makes itself.”

A best-in-class service provider, Lubricants South West recommended PURITY FG, a specially formulated food grade lubricant that is effective even under the most severe food processing conditions. Petro-Canada’s advanced food grade machinery lubricant technology has proven that their products can perform as well as or better than many typical conventional lubricants. Nampak put it to the test.

In a trial phase using PURITY FG lubricants, the temperature, flow and pressure conditions of their manufacturing equipment were measured. PURITY FG passed the trial by meeting all of Nampak’s rigorous criteria and was adopted for use at all Nampak facilities. In the two years since converting to PURITY FG, Nampak continues to see excellent equipment performance attributed to the high quality of the oils with the reduced risk of food contamination in its processes.

Nampak now relies on oil analysis as opposed to scheduled draining, and has found the time between change-outs—at two years—to be almost double what it was previously. The longevity of the oil is a huge cost savings for the company.

“When food grade lubricants first came on the market, people were skeptical,” recalls Short. “Petro-Canada Lubricants’ PURITY FG product line has proven its performance.”