Saint-Gobain Seals Group has recently received EU certification for their custom formulated compound, Fluoroloy® A79, regarding direct food contact. As food contact materials come into contact with the food, molecules can migrate from the food contact material to the food, and because of this, many countries have established regulations and rigorous testing to ensure food safety. Food contact materials can be constructed from a variety of materials such as plastics, rubber, paper, coatings, metal, or a combination of materials.
Fluoroloy A79 Compounds for EU Food Applications
Fluoroloy® A79, a plastics material, meets the requirements of the European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1935/2004 and 10/2011 with the use of Simulant C (20% ethanol); it was tested for specific and overall migration and all results were below the maximum limit. Fluoroloy® A79 is currently being used as the jacket material for seals within industrial ice cream machines but is also compliant with other food processing equipment. In addition to the EU certification, Fluoroloy® A79 also meets US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for materials which have repeated contact with food or drugs for oral consumption.
Aside from Fluoroloy® A79, Saint-Gobain Seals Group’s offers more than 80 standard Fluoroloy® grades. Several other Fluoroloy® grades are available for food applications that are also compliant with EU regulation 1935/2004 and 10/2011, FDA, USP Class VI, USDA and 3A Sanitary.
Fluoroloy® is a registered trademark of Saint-Gobain Seals Group, consisting of a family of proprietary materials that are composed primarily of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based resins and developed to perform in the most diverse and extreme applications for various markets such as Oil & Gas, Automotive, Aerospace and Life Sciences.
This material is also being used for the jacket material to manufacture OmniSeal®, high-performance spring-energized seals with excellent chemical resistance and physical, thermal and tribological properties. In the Oil & Gas Industry, OmniSeal® seals will be utilized on the world's first subsea gas compression station in the Åsgard field offshore Norway, which will be installed in 2015. The material has been certified to the NORSOK M710rev2 and API 6A standards, making the Seals Group one of few companies to reach this high level of compliance. In the Life Sciences industry, OmniSeal® seals are often used in surgical tools and are part of the only full-powered, reusable, battery operated endoscopic stapler in the world.
For more information about Fluoroloy®, OmniSeal® or other Saint-Gobain Seals Group sealing and polymer solutions, please visit www.seals.saint-gobain.com.