CF ChatterFix
Preventive Maintenance

HTST Legal Controls Seal & Record Check

An HTST pasteurizer's legal controls — the recording controller, the flow diversion device, the timing pump and the holding tube — are what make the milk legally pasteurized. The regulatory agency tests and seals them. Maintenance's part is to prove, every week, that the seals are still intact and the record still agrees with the indicating thermometer, because a broken seal or a drifting recorder is found by an inspector otherwise, and the product made since the last good check is in question.

Interval Weekly
Est. Duration 0.5 hrs
Steps 5
Applies To Dairy & Cheese Processing

The Procedure

The steps ChatterFix schedules for this PM. Every step is a checkable item on the work order — a technician can speak their way through it without touching a keyboard.

  1. Confirm every regulatory seal on the recording controller, flow diversion device and timing pump is present and intact — do not break, move or replace a seal
  2. If any seal is broken or missing, stop: tell QA and the plant manager, and do not run product until the regulatory agency has re-tested and re-sealed
  3. Compare the recording chart or electronic record with the indicating thermometer and record both readings
  4. Watch one forward-flow / divert cycle at start-up and record that it diverted below the legal temperature
  5. Record the date of the last regulatory quarterly test and flag it if one is due

Why This PM Exists

An HTST pasteurizer's legal controls — the recording controller, the flow diversion device, the timing pump and the holding tube — are what make the milk legally pasteurized. The regulatory agency tests and seals them. Maintenance's part is to prove, every week, that the seals are still intact and the record still agrees with the indicating thermometer, because a broken seal or a drifting recorder is found by an inspector otherwise, and the product made since the last good check is in question.

What Skipping It Looks Like

Seals get knocked during unrelated work and nobody notices until the next regulatory visit. A recorder that reads a degree or two off the indicating thermometer becomes 'normal'. When it surfaces, the plant is not arguing about a repair — it is holding product and waiting for a re-test before it can pasteurize again.

Setting the interval

Weekly is a sensible floor for a plant running daily, with the start-up divert check done every production day by operations. The regulatory quarterly tests are on the agency's schedule, not this one; this check makes sure nothing between them goes unrecorded. It never adjusts a legal setting.

Equipment This Covers

Common Questions

How often should this PM run?
Weekly. Weekly is a sensible floor for a plant running daily, with the start-up divert check done every production day by operations. The regulatory quarterly tests are on the agency's schedule, not this one; this check makes sure nothing between them goes unrecorded. It never adjusts a legal setting.
How long does it take?
Budget about 0.5 hours for a technician working to the standard procedure. ChatterFix uses that estimate for capacity planning, then learns your plant's actual time from completed work orders.
What happens if we skip it?
Seals get knocked during unrelated work and nobody notices until the next regulatory visit. A recorder that reads a degree or two off the indicating thermometer becomes 'normal'. When it surfaces, the plant is not arguing about a repair — it is holding product and waiting for a re-test before it can pasteurize again.
Can I use this checklist in ChatterFix?
Yes — this exact procedure ships in the Dairy & Cheese Processing industry pack. Pick your industry at signup and it is scheduled on the right assets automatically, with no configuration.

Related Procedures

Stop Retyping Your PM Library

This procedure — and every other PM for your industry — is already built into ChatterFix. Pick your industry and it lands on the right equipment, on the right interval, in about three minutes.