Summary for food safe finishes Discussion
Food safe finishes are discussed in terms of the intended use and whether a coating can be considered FDA compliant. Alan Ifft asks which coatings or platings are approved for food-industry use and notes that platers and finishing houses often won’t say clearly what is or isn’t approved. Eric Oseas explains that the application matters: a corrosion-resistant coating may be judged safe as a food contact substance if the FDA determines that only an insignificant amount could migrate into food. Another reply notes that tin plating is used for food applications, such as bakery pans. The thread suggests there is no single universal approval for all finishes; compliance depends on the specific coating, exposure, and end use, so users should verify the exact regulatory status for their application rather than relying on generic claims.
Q. I am looking for help on coatings/platings that are approved safe to be used in the food industry. I believe there are several approval agencies such as NSF, but I am having trouble getting normal platers or finishing houses to tell me straight out what is or isn’t approved!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Alan Ifft
industrial fasteners – Highland, Illinois, USA
2004
A. Your intended use will have direct bearing on whether or not a coating is FDA compliant. For example, we have a corrosion resistant coating that the FDA determined to be safe as a ‘food contact substance’ because of the impossibility of a significant amount of it getting into food.
Eric Oseas
– Cincinnati, Ohio
2004
A. Tin plating is use for food. example: bakery pans.
Don Baudrand
Consultant – Poulsbo, Washington
(Don is co-author of “Plating on Plastics”
and “Plating ABS Plastics” eBay
or
AbeBooks
affil links])
2004
A. Electroless Nickel (over .001 thick?), There is also some powder coat that FDA approved. I’m sure there is more.
Chris Snyder
plater – Charlotte, North Carolina
2004
A. In the US the USDA, United States Dept of Agriculture have made a list of which materials are, and which are not acceptable coatings for contact with food.
Bo Kønig
Food industry – Odense, Denmark
2004
Q. 1. I want to know valid metal sheet for grains & sugar storage. Is plating on mild steel(ms) sheet valid? Then which.
2. Is Fiberglass OK for grains & sugar storage?
Subodh Upadhye
– Pune, Maharashtra, India
September 1, 2012
A. Hi, Subodh.
1. Tin is a food safe plating, although solid stainless steel might be better.
2. I think you will find that isopthalic polyester resin is generally food safe. I’ve seen countless fiberglass food silos, so surely some fiberglass is okay. But so many different resins are available, that you need to specifically check. Plus I believe the US FDA rates materials based upon the type of food product they will touch, as well as the material of construction. That is, sugar syrup might have different requirements than grain or powdered sugar.
Sorry that I don’t have a complete answer for you, but I don’t think there is one without detailed study of your situation. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
September 1, 2012