Tips for Food-Grade Lubricants

4 Things to Know About Food-Grade Lubricants

Food grade lubricants are essential to keep your frozen drink machine running smoothly all summer long. Although this maintenance isn't a day to day requirement, ensuring that it's a part of your weekly cleaning routine is key. Keeping your equipment lubricated means taking care of the parts that are constantly moving and ensuring your drinks are at their best consistency and minimises energy consumption. Here are our food-grade lubricant tips!

1. Lubricant Pros

Regularly cleaning and lubricating your machine reduces the risk of foodborne illness getting trapped in the nooks and crannies of your machine, especially if you're handling dairy products or the like! This process also gives you an opportunity to ensure the inner workings of your device are in top shape and working correctly.

2. Make sure you're using an H1 Lubricant, not H2

H1 is classified as edible, safe, and non-toxic and contains formulas mostly composed of white oil and/or vegetable stock. This won't affect the taste or color of your drink if there's accidental contact. H2 are not permitted by the FDA to come in contact with food due to their petroleum bases.

3. Keep an eye out for a Synthetic Base

As opposed to mineral-based formulas, which are used for machines operating at higher heat, synthetic based lubricants are more malleable and fit devices functioning at freezing temperatures.

4. Use your Lubricant Weekly and Correctly

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Only lubricate the drive shaft and the moving parts, not any parts that connect to the motor. Never be tempted to use petroleum jelly if you run out of your H1 food safe lubricant! Petroleum jelly can break down, cause your drink to be contaminated, and damage your machine.

There's so much to know about lubricants and we know that can be overwhelming when you're running a restaurant or business. Please be sure your staff knows the routine maintenance of your frozen beverage machines and we can handle the repairs if needed! Our stellar customer service and support is ready for you, no matter how sticky the situation may be!