In terms of machinery to process Kratom it is important that only stainless-steel machines, that are food grade, are used. During our travels in Southeast Asia we had the possibility to explore different production sites. We saw the huge differences in terms of what kind of machinery is used. There are few producers that invest into the right machinery and have modern, food grade equipment. On the other hand, the majority is unfortunately using self-assembled machinery. These machines are usually not stainless-steel, and you can see the coating dripping off the machines or that they are fixed with tape.These machines are less expensive, and so are their parts. There is a metal ring that is fitting in the interior of the machine to grind the Kratom. We learned this ring needs to be replaced and can frequently break. The replacement ring on these machines is around 80,000 IDR (around 5 euros) whereas the replacement rings on the food grade machines cost over 1 million IDR (around 65 euros). To be safe, we make sure proper food grade milling equipment is being used. It is imperative to check for yourself because everyone will claim to be using food grade machinery. These self-assembled machines are nothing you want your product being processed in and can cause risks for the
product safety. If the metal ring breaks, then parts of the metal grinding mechanism can find its way to your Kratom powder.