Why safe rubber is business critical

19th March, 2020

We look at why safe rubber is critical to your business and how you can ensure that your products won’t lead to a recall.

 A recall is something that businesses never want to have. They lead to a lose of revenue and a loss of trust in their products. Sometimes it is not the product itself that is faulty, but can be exposed to contamination during the production process. This is particularly an issue during the manufacturing of food. Specialist food grade rubber must be used when tools will come in contact with food and even then it cannot always ensure that contamination won’t occur.

One example of this is Quorn’s recall due to the potential that some of the curries were contaminated with flexible rubber pieces (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/13/quorn-recalls-curry-ready-meal-over-rubber-contamination-fear). While their manufacturing products might have been compliant, there is always the possibility that these products will fail. It is especially challenging when your customers are at risk of injury or illness from the products.

So what can you as a business do ensure that their products are not at risk?

Get products fit for purpose

Getting manufacturing products that are fit for purpose and not just off of the shelf. It makes a big difference to work with a reputable company who will come to your factory, meet your team and manufacture custom products for you. This ensures that they fit your machinery properly and that the right rubber is used. This keeps your machinery running as it should with resistance to degradation

Check your products regularly

Even though your machinery is built to last, it’s only natural for parts to wear out. This is why it’s important to err on the side of caution, particularly with rubber where it may not be immediately evident that parts are wearing out. Cleaning and maintaining your rubber with the instructions from your rubber manufacturer will help your products last.

Get them replaced

And if they are worn out, get them replaced. But we don’t have to tell you that! However, if you are looking for new rubber parts, try considering a custom rubber manufacturer that will work with you until you get a product that you are completely satisfied with.

While recalls cannot always be avoided, there are ways to minimize the chance that they will happen. If you’ve got a rubber project and are looking for a manufacturer that puts quality and service first, get in touch! (https://www.aquasealrubber.co.uk/contact/)