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FDA Silicone Boasts a Useful Combination of Properties
Components made from an FDA silicone can be found in an assortment of applications. The food-safe silicone can be found lining the window of your microwave oven or sealed around the lid of food containers. This FDA elastomer can also be found in laboratories as a component and in food factories as a workstation surface. As with other types of elastomers, food grade rubber possesses a combination of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties that predestine the material to excel in several applications.
What is it that makes FDA silicone rubber such a fitting material in the applications mentioned above? The answer actually lies within the properties of the elastomer itself. Silicone brings very unique traits to the task at hand. After all, there is a reason why the material has been used for various applications since it first came to the market decades ago. Check out some useful properties of the food-safe silicone rubber:
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FDA Silicone
Low Toxicity, Odor, and Taste: Silicone rubber (also called VMQ) inherently has a low toxicity, odor, and taste. When constructed conforming to the Code of Federal Regulations, a food grade rubber sheet makes certain that every consumable item that contacts the rubber is free from any kind of alteration or contamination. This is very important trait that any elastomer must have if it is to be considered a proper FDA elastomer.
Wide Operating Temperature Range: Silicone rubber generally has one of the largest operating temperature ranges among the various elastomers. In the lower temperature ranges, FDA silicone remains relatively flexible in comparison to other elastomers. Other types of rubber normally tend to become brittle. In higher temperatures, the rubber maintains stability and does not bubble up or dry out. This is a crucial feature for the many gasket and seal components required of FDA silicone rubber in various food related applications. The processes of preparing, handling, and storing food and other consumables can widely vary in their respective ideal temperatures. Food-safe silicone is a material that can match any temperature conditions that it is put in.
Hygienic: In order for an elastomer to be considered “FDA-approved,” it must be appropriate for repeated use. In other words, an FDA elastomer must not harbor any kind of bacteria, mold, or any other potentially harmful contaminants in the material that may affect other products. Food grade rubber is a mold-resistant material and is water-repellant, making it much harder for the rubber to get logged with contaminating liquids. In general, rubbers of all kinds are good at resisting the harmful microbial development that moisture normally brings. An FDA silicone sheet is specifically meant to be able to prevent such harmful agents developing.
Excellent Physical Properties: A low compression set and excellent flexibility and elongation are characteristics of all silicone elastomers, let alone the food-safe silicone version. FDA silicone is an easy elastomer to cut and manipulate as needed. The physical properties of the elastomer have allowed the FDA to deem it as an appropriate food grade rubber for use as gaskets, seals, and liners for food handling purposes, as well as among other uses.
The uses for FDA silicone sheets are not limited to gaskets and sealing material. It is not uncommon to see silicone rubber in the form of medical and laboratory components. The same types of properties and features that make FDA silicone so well suited to food handling applications are also very suitable for medical and laboratory settings. The scientific and medical fields can be just as sensitive as the food handling industry. With such big responsibility on them, they need a good and efficient rubber that is odorless, flexible, hygienic, temperature and chemical resistant. With its many physical and chemical properties, an FDA silicone product can function where its unmatched abilities of wide-range temperature stability and flexibility are needed.
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