What Make a Sealing Material FDA-Grade?

A wide variety of food and beverage manufacturers are required to use FDA-compliant materials for non-toxicity and chemical compatibility (e.g., clean in place chemicals). Seals for these industries also need to be able to withstand abrasion during continuous operations, high temperatures, vibration and corrosive conditions.

It is the responsibility of the O-ring manufacturer to utilize compounds consisting exclusively of the ingredients listed in the FDA's "White List" located in the Code of Federal Regulations (title 21) section number 177.2600. FDA-grade sealing products are handled and packaged in a certified cleanroom environment and subjected to rigorous testing to meet the demands of the most challenging food processing and beverage applications.

What Are the Benefits of FDA-grade Materials for O-rings?

High quality FDA-material O-rings and seals will decrease processing line downtime and increase product safety.

What Are the Most Common Materials Used for FDA-grade O-rings?

The most commonly specified FDA-grade rubber materials are: Silicone, EPDM or EPR, Fluorocarbon or FKM (trademark name Viton), Neoprene and Nitrile or Buna, but not every compound is FDA-grade.

Another specialty sealing material that food and beverage manufacturers use in their production facilities to prevent contamination are metal detectable O-rings. These O-rings allow in-line metal detectable and x-ray machines to trigger a processing line shut down, ensuring product safety and regulatory compliance.

Rocket Seals stocks a wide variety and can source, specific compounds of FDA-grade or metal detectable seals to meet your needs.