You can buy neodymium magnets fairly cheaply and create your own finger or grate trap by using a bunch of them. The least expensive Eriez grate magnet I could find is over $600.

If you're using any sort of metal/metal grinder you probably also want to pump the chocolate through a magnetic trap to remove any metal particles. These are even more expensive than the grate magnets.

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Thanks Sebastian - I'll definitely look into these!

I like the grates/finger type personally, as it's more surface area:product contact (higher liklihood of foreign ferrous object removal).  The effectiveness of them is directly related to the strength of the magents in them (rated by gauss).  I almost exclusivly used these all around the world.

Sebastian - Do you mean the tube-shaped magnets that are used in grates and in liquid traps? The ones I've seen for grates don't appear to be any less expensive than the plates, although I could be wrong. Also, I was under the impression that the grates were better for larger ferous objects, whereas the plates were better for smaller objects. I may be misunderstanding what you mean however.

Why not use finger magnets?

Clay - Have you seen a good magnet solution for small producers? Most of the solutions I've seen are clearly for larger facilities. I've been thinking about getting a plate magnet and somehow attaching that to a small grain chute used by home brewers, but even that could cost up to $1,000. 

About ten years ago I was involved in a project to develop a software tool to help manage FDA 10k compliance for a Type 1 medical device (a device that comes in physical contact with a patient). It makes HACCP look like child's play. You have to have a written process in place that talks about how you document meetings where any product design decision even gets discussed incidentally. If you decide to change the company you source grub screws from you have to document that so that, if somehow the grub screw gets implicated in a patient safety report, you can figure out the who, why, where, how, and when the decision got made. FOR EVERYTHING.

While it's not necessary to go to these lengths, it makes a good deal of sense to have such a manual and to keep it up to date. It's exactly the sort of thing that inspectors - and insurance companies - love. A good plan could help you reduce insurance premiums.

First step: There is a manual. The first chapter (chapter zero, traditionally) in the manual talks about why there is a manual in the first palce, how to use it, who it covers, how training is done, how the efficacy of training is measured, and more.

In each chapter there is a revision history for the contents of the chapter. Everyone whose work is covered by that chapter has to sign off they they read the chapter, that they received the proper training, and that they understand what it means and how it has an impact on their work. Do not throw away pages that are outdated! There's a section in each chapter for deprecated pages, if there's an issue the inspector will want to see what changed.

One of the chapters covers cleaning procedures. Another avoiding cross-contamination. Another about the process of accepting beans and testing them when they come in. There's a separate chapter that is a compendium of test results (e.g., aW, cut tests on acceptance). Have everyone sign off on the fact that they received the proper training and know what to do. Of course, you need to actually do the training.

Keep the manuals in a prominent place and make sure the inspectors know where they are when they show up - and that they can see how serious you are about these issues.

Keep in mind also that if you are manufacturing chocolate from cocoa beans in the US that the FDA has some specific guidance for inspectors . Whatever you do (at least here in the US) this is basic stuff that you need to make sure you're paying attention to. One particular requirement is the use of magnets to remove metal in the pre-cleaning step, something that is often overlooked.

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updated by @clay: 02/25/15 14:18:55

Michael - we have to do a HACCP, accident and incident report diary, temperature charts etc. We get graded from 0-5 stars for health and hygiene and to get full 5 stars all paperwork need to be in order, such as this HACCP.

Thanks for the really helpful responses, i will now try finish my HACCP

I don't know if this is too generic for you: http://www.candyusa.com/files/ChocolateSafetyHACCP.pdf

 

 

Your roast step will be your micro kill step.  Validate it.  At the last step prior to depositing into moulds/enrobing, that will be your final opportunity to place a magnet / screen out foreign objects.  After packaging, you could metal detect.  Depends on how thorough you want/need to be.

Remember to pay close attention to the potential for re-contamination of micro clean areas via physically transport of microbes from dirty areas, or via air handling systems.  Also if your equipment is water jacketed or gets a water wash down, you'll want to consider the potential for leaks to emerge and/or incomplete drying leading to microbial growth areas.

You have to create a HACCP plan for a small chocolate business? Is that typical in the UK? Ouch.
Anyway…I was actually looking into this myself for another reason, and I found this info. It's from the Canadian government's food safety site. It might be overkill, but at least it's for chocolate:  Generic Choc HACCP Model

Hi,

So from initially experimenting, to it being a hobby and now amazingly to hopefully starting a small bean to bar chocolate business, i now need to be food hygiene certified in able to sell to the public. The last thing i need to do is a HACCP for it. The standard template ones are not really relevant to making chocolate from the bean, so am going to have to create my own. Does anyone have an example of a HACCP that they have used for their food safety paperwork, that i could perhaps see to help me create my own one? as i have not had to do a HACCP since food tech at school!

thanks,

 

James

updated by @james-hull: 04/09/15 04:12:10