Do You Know What Food Grade Plastics Are?

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What are food contact materials?

FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They are responsible for determining which materials can be used in direct contact with food. Materials that meet food contact safety specifications are FDA compliant, which is the official word for the material to be considered "food grade." The quality and composition of these materials make them safe for food contact. They have been inspected by the FDA and will not adversely harm or affect the color, smell, or taste of the food it comes in contact with. The FDA also refers to food-grade materials as food contact substances, or FCS for short. 

Which plastics are FDA approved for food contact?

PEEK

PEEK is a lightweight and strong semi-crystalline thermoplastic. Due to its high melting point and low coefficient of thermal expansion, PEEK has high dimensional stability. As such, PEEK food handling products can withstand microwave use, dishwasher use, and intense temperatures when cooking directly on heat.

PEEK is safe for direct contact with delicate foods like raw lettuce or fresh dairy products even during the production process. For this reason, PEEK food handling components are used in both food packaging and food production processes. Some common products made from PEEK resin include blenders, kneaders, mixing paddles and scrapers, and valves and nozzles on coffee machines.

PEEK outpaces other food-safe plastics in terms of design flexibility. PEEK can be manufactured with added colorants to make it a vibrant color, which increases process safety since broken or damaged PEEK parts will be immediately noticeable during production. This helps prevent hazardous food and beverage consumption and accidental contamination.

food grade plastic

PPSU

Polyphenylsulfone (abbreviated as PPSU) is a kind of sulfone polymer, which belongs to special engineering plastics and high-temperature plastics. With excellent physical and chemical properties, it can replace thermosetting plastics, metals and ceramics, and be processed into high-quality parts and high-load products by injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, machining, etc.

Because PPSU itself is non-toxic and does not release bisphenol A, it is very friendly to babies and children as a food contact material.

In the field of food containers, PPSU can be used to replace glass, cermet and thermoset materials. Compared to other types of resins, PPSU tableware performs very well.

PES

PES has excellent heat resistance.  Thermal deformation temperature is 200~220℃. Continuous use temperature is 180~200℃. UL temperature index is 180℃. PES has an outstanding advantage of stable performance in environments with sharp temperature changes.

In terms of hygiene standards, it is recognized by the US FDA food-grade plastic testing requirements. It is often used as special aviation tableware.

Are you in need of food-grade plastics?

Tuntunplastic is a professional company specializing in the production, sales and service of special engineering plastic. Tuntunplastic provides you with FDA-approved polymers to the food processing industry. If you have any inquiries about this, please kindly contact us. 

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