Pharmaceutical Cleaning

Working in a pharmaceutical supply company means your end product must meet extreme guidelines to ensure consumers have the correct medications delivered in the safest manner possible. To this end, pharmaceutical manufacturers practice cleaning validation processes, including specific cleaning and disinfecting agents. The sanitation chemical supplier Bell Chem stocks dozens of top-end chemicals perfect for use in cleaning validation for pharmaceutical manufacturers.  

Cleaning Validation
Cleaning validation is a quality control measure that ensures machinery is cleaned properly to remove microbial and chemical residues, including detergents utilized during cleaning. Depending on the type of residue, method of production, and end product, detergents may be acidic (such as sulfuric acid), alkaline (sodium hypochlorite), oxidative, surfactant, foaming, et cetera.

The validation process is not a one-way street that only determines rules and ensures they are followed. Cleaning validation allows corporations to operate more efficiently and effectively, which increases financial gains. Machines containing sticky or grating substances will cause delays, as they need to be taken apart during manufacturing to be cleaned. By ensuring a clean environment at each stage of manufacture, the process runs without unnecessary delays.

Safety
Employee safety is tantamount in any industry, and working with potentially hazardous pharmaceutical products can endanger your workforce if areas are not properly sanitized. With the correct products, areas can be cleaned and sanitized, even while using sanitation products at lower water temperatures.

Efficiency
The correct product can expedite cleaning time; the proper detergent can clean and sanitize an area quickly. The saved time can be dedicated to creating more product rather than cleaning an area. While some individuals believe elbow grease is the ultimate form of cleaning, keep in mind that scrubbing machine parts can damage them.

The Right Detergent
Detergents work in specific manners, so choose a detergent that will give the best results. Acid detergents remove inorganic residues and salts, alkaline detergents are powerhouse chemicals that work in the majority of manufacturing applications, and neutral detergents are compatible with most other chemicals and can be used with hand cleaning of delicate parts. Along with detergents, products used during cleaning validation include chelators, dispersants, emulsifiers, solvents, and wetting agents.  

Pharmaceutical corporations must meet strict criteria concerning cleaning validation. Contact the sanitation chemical supplier Bell Chem to ensure your company meets those standards with our pure supply of cleaning and sanitizing supplies. Based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando), Bell Chem has hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

The Benefits of Soy Lecithin

Because of soy lecithin’s ability to interact with the body’s cells, it’s essential in short-term cell signaling. The cells of the human body rely on acetylcholine to stimulate different processes, including nerve impulses. When soy lecithin is ingested, the choline it contains converts to acetylcholine to further those impulses. A diet low in choline reduces the pliability of cell membranes, and nutrients are unable to be absorbed and metabolized, which weakens internal and external cellular processes. Bell Chem, a food ingredient distributor, carries this versatile ingredient.

Manufacturing
Soy lecithin is inexpensive and does not require a lengthy manufacturing process. In fact, most lecithin is a by-product after the generation of soybean oil. Soy lecithin is also virtually free of soy proteins, making it safe for individuals with soy allergies to consume. During manufacturing, most of the oils are removed from soy lecithin, thus the created product is considered virtually free of soy proteins.

As a Stabilizer
Soy lecithin acts as a stabilizer in blended ingredients. When liquids contain both oil and water, soy lecithin quickly blends the two. This makes it ideal to add to products such as salad dressings, margarine, and mayonnaise. Manufacturers admire the stabilization aspect of soy lecithin since it extends shelf life.

Soy lecithin’s stabilization causes bread dough to spread more evenly without being “sticky” or hard to manipulate. This also comes in handy with rising bread since air is evenly trapped throughout the dough; bubbles that erupt are therefore small and manageable rather than large air pockets. Anti-stickiness is the stabilization factor manufacturers require for non-stick sprays, and soy lecithin is a perfect ingredient for these cooking sprays.

As an Emulsifier
Emulsification is closely related to the properties of a wetting agent, or surfactant — another role of soy lecithin. Confections, such as chocolate bars and peanut butter treats, benefit from a perfectly blended flavor bite-after-bite. Instant drinks and foods add soy lecithin for the same reason; it reduces the surface tension of water to facilitate easier mixing and blending. Without soy lecithin, mixes would include large clumps of solid interspersed with a weak, watery product.

Stock your kitchen with beneficial soy lecithin from the food ingredient supplier Bell Chem. Based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando), Bell Chem has hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

The Benefits of Aloe

Aloe vera is a succulent plant well known for its healing properties, especially in treating burns. The viscous gel inside the leaves contains a bevy of amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins, giving aloe vera a strong corner in industries such as cosmetics, food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals. The annual global market value of aloe has skyrocketed to $13 billion. The personal care raw materials supplier Bell Chem has long stocked its impressive inventory with aloe vera.

Polyphenols
Aloe contains polyphenols, which can help with digestion, weight management, bacterial growth, and more. Polyphenols encompass a large family of antioxidants that prevent bacterial growth. Because bacteria are closely associated with infection, aloe has had centuries of use as a healing salve, keeping wounds and burns free of microbes and stimulating healing.

Scientific Studies
Several studies have proven aloe vera is responsible for accelerating burn victims’ healing time by nine days when compared to traditional medication. Canker sores treated with aloe vera also reduce in size. Although aloe did not match corticosteroids in treating canker sores, the amount of pain associated with the sores diminished with aloe vera treatment, and ulcers healed more quickly with its topical application.

A 2014 study published in the Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences compared 100% pure aloe vera extract, which contains naturally elevated amounts of vitamin C, to chlorhexidine (the active ingredient in most toothpastes) and found aloe to be as effective in reducing the amount of bacterial biofilm (plaque) on teeth. Aloe acted in killing or preventing the growth of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans in the mouth.

Keep aloe vera on hand as a fantastic additive for your pharmaceutical, food and beverage, or cosmetics business. Bell Chem, the personal care raw materials supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) has hundreds of products, including aloe vera, stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Treating Drinking Water

It can be easy to take water for granted. You turn on the faucet, and clean water flows out. We no longer have to clean cistern filters or pump water manually from wells. We expect water to be free of harmful chemicals and organic materials. But how does water become potable, or ready to drink, as it flows from a water source to your faucet? Bell Chem, the water treatment chemical supplier, breaks down the process of transporting and treating drinking water.

Water in Florida
In Florida, most water is naturally stored in aquifers below the ground. This water is pumped from its original location to a treatment facility, where its processed before being distributed to homes and businesses. While it seems like a simple process, the physical act of treating the water in the treatment facility is quite complex, in part due to the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 which enacted water safety standards to keep the public safe. The Environmental Protection Agency monitors every water treatment facility for hundreds of biological organisms, chemicals, compounds, and metals. Most standards are met when contaminants are removed or additives enhance water quality. Below are standard components of water treatment.

Chlorine
An additive that kills a large range of organic matter.

Aluminum Sulfate
Dissolved particles are often negatively charged. Adding a positively charged ion such as aluminum sulfate causes the particles to cling to the ion and form precipitates. Therefore, aluminum sulfate precipitates inorganic material and organic matter killed by bacteria. Precipitates sink inside a settling basin as sedimentation. At this point, surface water begins the process of filtration and it passes through a variety of filters (sand, gravel, and charcoal) with differing pore sizes that remove contaminants of various sizes.  

Lime
Lime is an alkaline that adjusts water’s pH. At times, chlorine, chloramine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, or other chemical disinfectants may be added to further purify the water. Some treatment plants rely on physical rather than chemical disinfectants, such as ultraviolet light, electronic radiation, and heat. All of these processes have the same function: killing organic matter. When the pH range changes, bacteria can no longer survive. Likewise, a disinfectant will kill a wide range of bacteria.

Fluoride
Fluoridating water has led to a sharp drop in tooth decay. According to the CDC, fluoridation is one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century.

Sodium or Potassium Ions
“Hard” water contains magnesium and calcium and is what we consider “good tasting” water. However, the chemicals in hard water take a toll on hair, appliances, and leave dishes spotted. Adding sodium and potassium creates a richer lather, brighter clothes, and spotless dishes. 

Bell Chem is the water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products, including a vast inventory of water treatment chemicals, stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Does Your Water Need Treatment?

Ensuring safe, drinkable water is a key part of any business. Whether you’re in health care, personal care, or the food industry, it’s imperative that your water is free from contamination. Bell Chem, a water treatment chemical supplier, goes through the six signs that your water may be contaminated.  

Chlorine
The “swimming pool smell” associated with chlorine is a clear indication you need a filtration system for your water. For the food industry, your baked goods’ appearance can indicate an excess of chlorine. Chlorine kills yeast, so breads and other baked goods containing yeast will not rise if chlorine is present in high amounts.  

Escherichia Coli (E. Coli)
Widespread illness due to this bacteria in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000 was due to surface water containing coliform bacteria seeping into well water. More than 2,000 cases of illness were reported. E. coli has no odor, taste, or visible change in water appearance. A water quality report from a water treatment plant will show if your water is contaminated.

Minerals
Water that appears cloudy or foamy may have a high mineral content or turbulent water. Minerals may be present in the water if the cloudiness settles after sitting a while. If the water remains cloudy, bacteria or methane gas may be contaminating the water. Methane is flammable and can possibly cause asphyxiation. 

Oil or Gas
A strong odor of gas can indicate your water is contaminated with a semi-volatile compound such as gasoline.  

Scale and Sediment
If your normally high pressure suddenly decreases, you may have a buildup of scale or sediment along the inside of your pipes. Corrosion allows scales to adhere, which build up over time and diminish the diameter of the pipes. Consider purchasing new pipes for your business.

Sulfur
Smelling “rotten eggs” when you turn on the faucet points to sulfur. Although it smells, it is generally regarded as non-harmful.

Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando). With hundreds of products stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, you can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us a message.

Disposing of Hazardous Waste

Businesses utilizing hazardous chemicals often find that after they’ve been used, disposing of these dangerous chemicals can be a challenge. Bell Chem, a water treatment chemical supplier, can help. Before finding out how to dispose of waste, it is important to understand what constitutes as hazardous waste.

Is It Hazardous Waste?
If the chemical is harmful to humans or the environment, it is considered hazardous waste. Hazardous materials may be in liquid, solid, gas, or plasma form. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates only solid hazardous waste. To determine if your waste is considered hazardous, use the following EPA guidelines.

Identify
Hazardous materials are often the by-product of hazardous ingredients or chemicals. Many hazardous solids are subject to RCRA Subtitle C regulation and have stringent guidelines for disposal. Look for “hazardous” labels on containers when they are delivered, and determine in which manner they may be harmful. By-products must be placed in an appropriate container with “hazardous waste” written on it. A description of the hazards caused by the material is necessary, along with the date the material was collected. Warning labels with RCRA information, the National Fire Protection Association, Department of Transportation hazard communication, or OSHA hazard statements or pictograms are all acceptable.

Count
The accumulation of each type of solid waste should be weighed and categorized into Large-, Small-, or Very Small Quantity Generators. Your business will fall into one of these categories determined by the monthly amount of weight amassed.

Notify
Large- and Small Quantity Generators must contact the EPA regarding all hazardous waste activities.

Manage
Determine if your hazardous waste material can be recycled, treated, distilled, evaporated, neutralized, diluted, flushed, or heated. These processes, if followed using OSHA standards or the like, can drastically reduce the amount of accumulated waste.  

Transport
A shipping manifest must be printed to transport hazardous waste to a disposal facility, or a landfill if the material has been neutralized.

Proper removal of hazardous waste from your business is imperative. The water treatment chemical supplier company, Bell Chem, wants your employees to be safe in and around these materials. Based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) Bell Chem has hundreds of products stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Restaurant Spotlight: Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting Products

All restaurants must maintain health and cleanliness standards, and it can be a time-consuming task to ensure these standards. The Daytona Beach ingredient supplier, Bell Chem, wants to ease your workload by providing the perfect chemicals in the correct form to keep your business operating smoothly. Read below for ideas on how to clean and sanitize your restaurant.

Is It Safe?
Using harsh chemicals around food prep surfaces may contaminate the food or endanger customers. Read labels carefully to determine if the cleaner you are spraying is safe to use around foods; labels include “mild” or “food safe” for these chemicals.

Should I Buy Powder, Tablet, Gel, or Liquid?
Powders are ideal for pre-treating stained areas. They can also be measured precisely since they are a dry ingredient. Tablets are pre-measured powders in a cake form that can save time and produce less waste. Gels will adhere to uneven or vertical surfaces. Liquids can be delivered via spray bottle or diluted to clean surfaces and equipment.

How Do “All Purpose” Cleaning Products Compare?
All-purpose cleaners are generally middle-of-the-road products within a narrow pH range that clean most surfaces relatively well. However, some restaurant areas, such as deep fryers, grills, or soft-serve yogurt machines, require more specific products to counter the microorganisms that thrive in areas containing food particles. Products specifically designed to clean one kitchen appliance generally require less time and elbow grease to clean, and remove more grease, oil, dirt, and grime than all-purpose cleaners.

Are Sanitizers and Disinfectants the Same?
In a word, no. After a surface is cleaned, a sanitizer or disinfectant is utilized to remove pathogens. Sanitizers destroy most bacteria whereas disinfectants destroy most bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Sanitize areas that come in contact with food, and disinfect areas to remove all pathogens. Rinse thoroughly after using disinfectants near food prep areas. Disinfectants are ideal to clean floors, bathrooms, and seating areas.

Keep your business and employees healthy with the perfect products from theDaytona Beach ingredient supplierBell Chem. Based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) Bell Chem has hundreds of products stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

What We Provide: Sanitation

Bell Chem’s massive warehouse has an abundance of ingredients and chemicals perfect for your business. As a sanitation ingredient supplier, Bell Chem strives to provide the purest ingredients and chemicals to meet your company’s specific needs. Below is an array of categories within Bell Chem’s sanitation inventory.

Acid Detergents
An acid detergent cleans and kills microbes that cannot withstand acidic conditions. Acid detergents are broken into inorganic (strong, extremely corrosive) and organic (weaker, less corrosive) detergents that work to lift grease, oil, mineral deposits, and hard water deposits from mechanical and flat surfaces.

Alkaline Cleaners
Alkaline cleaners combine alkaline salts, wetting agents, and sequestrants. Most detergents are traditionally alkaline since they easily compound fats and oils into soaps while they dissolve proteins. Strong alkaline cleaners tackle caked-on and dried products. Food processing and food service industries use alkaline cleaners ideal to remove surface matter before disinfecting.

Chlorinated Detergents
Detergents cleanse surfaces and remove by-products and deposits. Adding chlorine disinfects surfaces as they are cleaned. Chlorine also acts as a whitening agent to remove proteins, soil, tannin, foods, and other stains. Chlorinated detergents are widely used in the food and beverage industries, as well as for painting and power washing.  

Conveyor and Chain Lubricants
As machinery moves, the gears and parts grind against one another and cause friction. Friction generates heat, as it deters parts from easily sliding across one another. Adding a lubricant facilitates gear and chain operation and extends the life of your machinery.

Foaming Cleaners
Sometimes particulate matter adheres to surfaces not suited for a traditional cleaner. Hard-to-reach surfaces and vertical walls call for a cleaner that maintains a thick lather to penetrate grime. Foaming cleaners are also ideal for horizontal surfaces requiring more than a quick cleaning. By maintaining a foamy film, the cleaner works on ink, oil, food, soil, or other stains to quickly remove them.

General Purpose Cleaners
General purpose cleaners are intended to work on most surfaces to keep plastic, metal, wood, and other areas free of food, dirt, and grime.

Sanitizers
Sanitizing reduces bacterial counts on cleaned surfaces by 99.9%. When coupled with cleaning, sanitizing helps to maintain clean and healthy work surfaces.

Keep your business and employees healthy with products from the sanitation ingredient supplier Bell Chem. Based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) Bell Chem has hundreds of products stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

The Uses of Mineral Spirits

Mineral spirits have many aliases, such as mineral turpentine, petroleum spirits, solvent naphtha, white spirits, or, as many homeowners may call them, paint thinners. The Florida chemical supplier, Bell Chem, offers mineral spirits that combine an array of hydrocarbons to give you different grades of the best product available. Take a look at some of the products we offer: 

• Degreaser: Used on machinery, metal, and automobiles, mineral spirits are strong degreasing agents. Degreasers allow oil and grease to be quickly and easily lifted from metal surfaces and washed away.

• Solvent: Painters use mineral spirits to remove paint from recently painted surfaces and to clean their brushes. Even oil-based paints are lifted from brushes with mineral spirits. Unlike turpentine, which may cause respiratory problems if inhaled frequently, mineral spirits are much less harmful, even when used indoors frequently. Mineral spirits are the most commonly used solvent in the painting industry. Aerosols, asphalt products, lacquers, shellacs, and varnishes utilize mineral spirits as a solvent.

• Cleaner: Tools and metal covered in layers of grime, dirt, and even old paint are quickly cleaned with mineral spirits. Wood furniture with a lacquer or varnish finish can be cleaned and buffed with just a small application. Mineral spirits also remove light scratches and skid marks from non-porous surfaces.

• Adhesive and resin remover: Glass products with any form of adhesive can be easily cleaned as the adhesive is dissolved by mineral spirits. 

Bell Chem, Florida's chemical supplier, is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products, including different grades of mineral spirits, stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

How Do Alkaline Cleaners Work?

You have a stain on your carpet. You go to the store, confident that finding the right cleaner will be a cakewalk — when suddenly you're met with aisle upon aisle of cleaning products. If picking out the right cleaner for your own home is difficult, picking out the correct cleaner for your business can only be harder. How can you determine which is the correct cleaner for your business’s needs? While many businesses rely on chlorinated cleaners, they are often too corrosive and harmful. Alkaline cleaners, on the other hand, are blended with a variety of other chemicals to clean, remove, neutralize, saponify, and/or sequester dirt and grime. The benefits of Orlando ingredient supplier Bell Chem’s alkaline cleaners are their cost, ease of disposal, and overall efficiency in cleaning a variety of products and surfaces.

Surfactants
Removing contaminants from metal surfaces keeps equipment running smoothly and efficiently. Alkaline cleaners quickly wash away any grime and grit from machine parts, especially when heat acts as a catalyst. Working double-duty, surfactant molecules have one hydrophilic end and one hydrophobic end. This chemical design creates an emulsion of water and oil. As the two separate, the oil is effortlessly washed away.

Alkaline Salts
Working as alkaline building blocks, many cleaners blend carbonates, caustic soda or caustic potash, phosphates, or silicates into their formulas to raise the pH level of the cleaner. Because each of these alkaline salts affects pH differently, their uses vary.

• Caustic alkaline salts: Caustic alkaline salts saponify fats and disperse oils as they neutralize acidic contaminants. With an average pH of 13, they are highly alkaline. Corrosion protectants, rust inhibitors, and waxes benefit from the addition of caustic alkaline salts to work rapidly.

• Silicates: Silicates offer medium alkalinity (pH 11-12.5) as they react much like a detergent, and are effective on soft metals.

• Phosphates: Phosphates range from 9.5 to 11.5 on the pH scale. Their lower pH creates a better acting detergent as they sequester water ions that normally interfere with cleaning.

• Carbonates: These are considered mild alkaline cleaners with a small pH range of 9 to 9.5. Carbonates are most often used as buffers or neutralizers for acidic contaminants. Water-soluble coolants are easily removed with carbonates. 

Bell Chem, Orlando’s ingredient supplier, is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a wide array of alkaline cleaners. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355).