3 Ways to Reduce Downtime During Kosher Changeovers
For many plant managers, the word “Kosherization” (the process of cleaning to make equipment Kosher) can mean lost production time. While strict cleaning is required for certification, the amount of downtime can often be managed more efficiently.
By making small changes to your processes and working with your Rabbinic Coordinator (RC), it’s possible to shorten the window between non-Kosher and Kosher runs. Here are three ways to optimize your production schedule:
1. Integrate Kosherization into Your Standard Cleaning (CIP)
The most efficient way to handle a changeover is to use your existing Clean-In-Place (CIP) systems more effectively. Instead of treating Kosherization as a completely separate event, you can often “blend” it into the cleaning you already do.
- The Strategy: Work with your RC to review your current CIP program.
- The Goal: Modify your existing cleaning cycle so it hits the required temperature (212°F) and duration.
- The Benefit: By integrating Kosher requirements into an unavoidable cleaning cycle, you save hours of production time. Once approved, this becomes a simple, repeatable process.
Insights from the Field
“Creativity and a fresh perspective can be key to considerable savings of time,” says Rabbi Avraham Stone, an OU Rabbinic Field Representative. “In a number of instances recently, while revisiting an existing CIP program with a company, we were able to identify a step in the program where we would be able to hit all the kosherization targets simply by pausing that step for 2 minutes and raising the temperature by a few degrees. Let me tell you, it’s a prime day in processing when you find a way to do in 2 minutes what had been taking hours to do.”
2. Check the Root Cause of the Changeover
Sometimes, a full Kosher cleaning is triggered by specific factors that can be changed. Before you schedule a heavy cleaning cycle, check to see if the changeover is actually necessary.
Ingredient Alternatives: Review your ingredients with your RC. Sometimes an ingredient labeled “Dairy” (D) is actually made on “Dairy Equipment” (DE). Switching to a different ingredient might remove the need for a full Kosherization.
Temperature Adjustments: Kosher cleaning requirements are often caused by high heat. If a specific part of your process can be done at room temperature (ambient) instead of hot, you may no longer be required to Kosherize that equipment.
3. Smart Sequencing (The Order of Production)
The best way to save time is to avoid a Kosherization entirely. You can often do this by simply changing the order of your production runs.
Moving from Dairy to Pareve requires a full, intensive Kosher cleaning.
Moving from Pareve to Dairy usually does not require Kosherization; a standard cleaning is enough.
The Result: By auditing your weekly schedule and reversing the order of these runs, you can often remove an entire cleaning cycle from your week.