With the increasing attention paid to food safety issues and the significant changes in people’s dietary habits caused by the epidemic, more and more silicone environmentally friendly tableware packaging bags are appearing in the market to replace disposable plastic products. Although we have repeatedly emphasized the non-toxic and safe properties of silicone in the previous articles, different ingredients will still be used for specific product uses and related certification procedures need to be followed. Today, we will talk about the differences between food grade silicone and regular silicone, and how to distinguish whether silicone is food grade or not.
What is food grade liquid silicone?
Is food grade liquid silicone edible? Of course not! Emphasizing once again the concept that silicone is indeed a safe, non-toxic, and harmless raw material for the human body, even so, it can still be distinguished into food grade and ordinary grade. Food grade silicone generally refers to all products that come into contact with our diet, such as baby pacifiers, straws, utensils, utensils, etc. Ordinary grade silicone is generally used for industrial purposes and cannot be applied to such food related products.
The difference between food grade liquid silicone manufacturers and ordinary silicone manufacturers:
Manufacturing methods and procedures:
Food grade liquid silicone manufacturers generally choose imported raw materials, and the quality of the raw materials is already determined from the beginning. Therefore, relevant quality inspection reports are indispensable when purchasing raw materials. This is not to say that ordinary silicone has poor quality, but rather that there are different application areas between the two. Ordinary silicone products are produced by mixing ordinary silicone, while food grade products with higher quality requirements are made using food grade vapor phase adhesives. We know that silicon dioxide is one of the main components of silicone, and the purity and density of gas-phase silicon dioxide are higher than ordinary silicon dioxide, so there will be differences in the finished product. However, the difference between the two is not significant, mainly in terms of tensile strength. Food grade silicone has a reinforcing effect on the stretching properties, so there will be no whitening phenomenon during the stretching process. So the initial identification of whether silicone products are food grade is based on this.
Ingredients:
Silica gel for food is an inorganic polymer colloid material condensed from silicic acid. It is non-toxic, tasteless, and chemically stable. Under normal conditions, it does not react with any acid, alkali or salt except caustic soda and hydrofluoric acid. It can withstand high temperatures of 220 ℃, so it can be used in a microwave oven and has no effect on the human body. Compared to other materials, it has the characteristics of being safer and healthier. Food grade silicone has strong stability properties and is more in line with the requirements of health and safety in daily life.
Certification:
Food grade silicone rubber products are silicone products processed from food grade silicone rubber raw materials. According to market demand, it is necessary to comply with environmental testing requirements such as NSF, FDA, ROSH, RECH, etc.
What is FDA?
FDA is the abbreviation for the United States Food and Drug Administration. It is an international medical auditing authority authorized by the United States Congress, the federal government, and the highest law enforcement agency specializing in food and drug management. The FDA is a government health regulatory monitoring agency composed of professionals such as doctors, lawyers, microbiologists, pharmacologists, chemists, and statisticians dedicated to protecting, promoting, and improving national health. Food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices certified by FDA are safe and effective for the human body. In nearly a hundred countries such as the United States, only materials, devices, and technologies that have been approved by the FDA can be commercialized for clinical applications.
Common applications of food grade silicone: tableware
Food grade silicone is a type of environmentally friendly silicone that is non-toxic, odorless, and highly transparent. It is suitable for environmentally friendly lunch boxes, bowls and chopsticks, as well as bags and straws used to hold food.
Baking and cooking utensils:
Food grade silicone is soft, has good elasticity, is resistant to twisting and deformation, does not crack, has a long service life, and is resistant to cold and high temperature. Therefore, it is widely used for food lamination, such as chocolate molds, candy molds, kitchen cooking utensils, spatulas, clamps, and so on.
Infant and toddler products:
Food grade silicone does not turn yellow when placed at room temperature, does not spray frost, does not spit white, does not fade, and has no scale or odor when left in water for a long time. Common baby pacifiers and milkers are made of food grade silicone.