Any item that comes into contact with food or that even sits near food in a processing plant has to be safe for that purpose. That means that any coatings on the equipment and furniture, including noise and squeak reduction coatings, and anything else in the plant must be approved to be in that environment. This is to protect the food and any packaging or other food-adjacent items that pass through. Not using the right coatings can create a major safety problem that affects not only consumers but also your company’s future.
Food Processing vs. Food Packaging and Equipment Manufacturing
Two types of approvals for food-safe items exist. One is the USDA, which handles the processing of actual food, while the other is the FDA, which covers packaging, dishware, utensils, and many other food-adjacent products, such as the processing equipment itself. If it’s going to touch food or be near food but not actually be an ingredient, the FDA likely has oversight.
Prevention of Chemical Leaching and Physical Flaking
Why is the use of FDA-approved coatings so important? If the company making the coating has a great track record, isn’t that better than a company that was FDA-approved but still had problems? No, it’s not because you still don’t know what standards that company’s manufacturing process is trying to meet. An FDA-approved coating has been through stringent evaluation, and you can be reasonably sure that this coating won’t leach chemicals or flake into food, for example. With an FDA-approved coating, you know that the food that will eventually go into that packaging will be as safe from contamination as possible.
Lack of Immediate Effects Doesn’t Mean Lack of Long-Term Effects
One of the issues with getting people to accept that they have to use FDA-approved coatings is that they don’t often see immediate effects from using the wrong product. This is not usually an issue with larger companies, but for smaller operations that are just investigating what they need to set up their business, FDA coatings may seem like one more rule among many. But they’re very important.
A paperboard box holding cookies doesn’t appear to do anything to the cookies, so people assume the box is safe to use with food. However, the lack of immediate effects that you can see right on those cookies does not mean that the person who eats them won’t have long-term effects. If the coating on the inside of the box leaches into the food, you aren’t going to know what it will do for a while. You could find months later that people were ingesting coating chemicals because the lining on the box was faulty, and that’s the sort of stuff that leads to class-action suits. You’re much better off finding FDA-approved coatings for your packaging so that you reduce the risk of something like that leaching.
Compliance With Changing Regulations
One more reason to use FDA-approved coatings is that the companies that make them have to stay aware of any regulatory changes. If the FDA makes a requirement more stringent, the coating manufacturer has to follow those guidelines. There’s no guesswork about whether the polyurethane foam mold coatings you’re using are up to the latest standards. Coatings from companies that try to avoid FDA regulations could be woefully out of date.
At Sun Coating Company, we want your food-adjacent items to be thoroughly safe to use in processing food. Contact us to learn more about different coatings and how to apply them. You want your products to be safe and durable, and ensuring you use an FDA-approved coating is one of the best ways to do that. No matter what you manufacture, if it’s going to be near food, use FDA-approved coatings to keep your customers and consumers overall happy with each product.