Shell's food safe synthetic lubricants and services benefit major Canadian food and beverage manufacturing plants

January 11, 2005
From a press release

CALGARY - Since introducing Shell Cassida(R) fluids and greases and a range of lubrication maintenance management services for the food and beverage industry, Shell Canada has helped increase food safety at Canadian food manufacturing plants.

Over the past year, Shell has been working with Unilever Canada at its Baie d'Urfé and Rexdale plants to develop improved lubrication management programs for equipment used in the manufacture of dozens of brand name food products including Lipton, Ragu and Becel. Shell Cassida(R) products and services have been implemented as part of Unilever's Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiative, which aims for a zero defect, zero failure and zero accident objective.

"When it comes to food and beverage manufacturing, safety is top-of-mind," said Les Markiewicz, General Manager, Commercial Sales and Marketing for Shell Canada. "A good lubrication program can increase food safety and production efficiency. Shell has worked with Unilever plants around the world providing Food & Beverage Solutions, which include Lubrication Contamination Control Point (LCCP) surveys. For the food and beverage industry, a key benefit of the LCCP survey is the identification of potential lubricant contamination points in the food process. This additional knowledge can then be incorporated into the Plant's food safety programs." Conventional industrial fluids and greases traditionally have been used in manufacturing in Canada but the potential for contact with consumable products makes these lubricants less than ideal for applications in the food and beverage industry. Shell Cassida(R) synthetic fluids and greases are H1 lubricants, which means they have been developed and approved for use where there is a risk of incidental contact with food, meeting the food and beverage industry's specific safety and performance requirements.

"Since implementing an oil analysis service offered by Shell Canada, we have been extremely pleased with the collaborative effort and recommendations that have resulted," said Doug Dittburner, Chief Engineer, Unilever Canada.

"The introduction of Shell Cassida(R) synthetic lubricants has substantially reduced operating temperatures and improved the efficiency of our compressors, effectively increasing the reliability of our critical equipment used in the manufacture of our well-known consumer food products."

For more information about Shell Cassida(R) products and services, visit www.shell.ca/food.