Materials and solutions for the food industry
The use of food-grade plastics that meet the most stringent specifications of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European food contact regulations is an important requirement for food processing companies. For markets such as China, relevant national food regulations must also be observed. As a processor of thermoplastics, Façade Creations offers a wide range of solutions for corresponding applications. We offer many products from our standard portfolio of thermoplastics with the corresponding approvals for food contact. These products meet the special requirements of food technology in terms of safety and performance.
Façade Creations issues product-specific food contact suitability certificates for its compatible materials. These certificates refer to FDA approval for raw materials, compliance with Regulation 1935/2004/EU, 10/2011/EU (specific measures for plastics) and 2023/2006/EU on good manufacturing practice (GMP) for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. For the Chinese food market we offer certificates according to the relevant national standards, including the positive list for plastics and the standard covering additives.
Thanks to their light weight and ease of processing, food contact plastics can replace metals in a wide range of applications, such as in plants and equipment for meat, fish, and poultry processing, as well as for dairy, bakery, and confectionery production. Food contact materials from Façade Creations can improve production speed and safety in the manufacturing process.
We also offer special plastics for the most common detection methods. As an alternative to conventional plastics, our portfolio includes blue materials for optical detection as well as plastics exhibiting multiple detective traits. These include our blue detectable products that are also metal- and X-ray-detectable for direct food contact applications. We offer all these products as standard. This increases safety during processing and reduces costs.
Our technical department will be happy to assist you in selecting the most suitable materials and appropriate processing methods for your food application. This also includes the development of new materials.
Get in touch with our Food Industry Team
(However, if you prefer to speak to someone directly? Call our aerospace team or email us and we’ll respond promptly.)
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Benefits for the Food Industry
- Food compliant
- Detectable
- Broad portfolio
- Lightweight components
- No lubrication required
- Resistance
Food compliant plastics
Façade Creations offers food contact plastics that meet the most stringent quality and safety requirements in terms of production safety, full traceability and product certification. Our portfolio for food-safe materials includes materials that meet the requirements of the FDA, EU Regulation 10/2011/EU, or the relevant national standards used in markets such as China. Information on other regulations will be gladly provided upon request.
Detectability to avoid contamination
In food processing lines, identifying possible plastic fragments in the food is an essential function. Our portfolio of blue materials for food contact and metal- or X-ray-detectable plastics can improve safety in food production. At the same time, international regulations to control and limit possible migration of substances from the material into the food can be met to avoid harmful effects.
Due to their good visibility and quick detectability in production, blue materials are much more suitable than materials of other colours. All our plastics for food contact in the inductive-detectable (ID) and ultra-detectable (UD) ranges are manufactured with special additives to make them detectable by means of a metal detector (ID) or additionally by X-ray detection (UD). Furthermore, the specifications for food contact are fulfilled. For this reason, we offer these products in blue colouration as standard.
Food technology portfolio
Our product portfolio offers a variety of different engineering and high-performance plastics in a wide range of forms for various applications in food technology, with and without compliance with food contact specifications. There are a variety of applications for food plastics in conjunction with meat, fish and poultry processing equipment and systems. Food-grade plastics offered by Façade Creations can improve production, speed and safety in dairy, bakery and confectionery manufacturing.
Lightweight components
When it comes to metal substitution, the weight reduction achievable through the use of plastics is an important factor. In food processing applications, this can help increase processing speed and production efficiency.
No lubrication required
When components or sliding parts made of metal are replaced by plastic parts, no external lubrication is usually required. This can reduce the risk of food contamination with oils or greases. Façade Creations offers food contact plastics that meet the most stringent quality and safety requirements in terms of production reliability, seamless traceability and product certification.
Resistant to cleaning agents
When selecting the right plastics for regularly cleaned and sterilised food contact components, there is no need to provide additional protection against corrosion. This would only be the case with metals (for example, painting, surface treatment or the use of special, cost-intensive alloys). All Façade Creations food contact plastics have resistance to cleaning agents to ensure the reusability and safety of the components. In addition, the use of blue materials allows the cleanliness of components to be detected more quickly, as spores, mould, and residues from food and cleaning agents can be identified more quickly than with materials of other colours.
One-Stop Shop Solution Provider – Everything from a Single Source
As a full-range supplier of high-performance plastics for the food industry, Façade Creations relies on a fully integrated value chain. Specifically tailored to the stringent requirements of the food industry, we produce a wide variety of polymer compounds, semi-finished products and filaments in-house. These are processed into safe and competitive components at our sites using innovative plastics processing technologies.
Finished Parts for the Food Industry
- Injection-moulded parts
- Customised tubes
- Profiles
- Machined parts
Products for the Food Industry
- Compounds
- Filaments
- Shapes
Solutions for the Food Industry
Blue materials for food
Blue materials are used extensively in the food industry because they provide excellent visibility (optical detection) and rapid detectability of plastic contaminants in food during production. Because blue is a colour rarely found naturally in food, any fragments that break off during processing are far easier for staff or vision-inspection systems to spot and remove before the product reaches a later stage of production.
Chemical resistant
Aggressive chemicals are used to clean equipment used in food processing. To ensure that food contact plastics can withstand these conditions, Façade Creations provides guidance on the chemical resistance of each material in our food-grade portfolio, helping customers select components that will maintain their properties and appearance even after repeated exposure to industrial cleaning agents and disinfectants.
Food safe materials
Materials that comply with FDA approval regulations for raw materials and regulations 1935/2004/EU, 10/2011/EU and 2023/2006/EU, and allow seamless traceability. Façade Creations issues order-related declarations of conformity for these materials, giving customers clear documentation to support their own end-product compliance.
Metal detectable plastics
In food processing plants equipped with metal detectors, our detectable “ID” family of materials can be used to achieve better control, helping to identify plastic contamination that might otherwise pass through standard visual inspection.
Multidetectable materials
Plastics in food industry applications often require great versatility, especially when it comes to the various methods of detecting unwanted particles in the food zone. Our ultra-detectable (UD) products are designed for visibility across the three most commonly used in-line particle detection systems: optical detectors, metal detectors and X-ray detectors.
Material for sliding and rubbing applications
Food processing often involves the movement or packaging of food. Therefore, the sliding or rubbing behaviour of plastics for food contact is an important property, and Façade Creations offers a range of low-friction, wear-resistant material solutions suited to conveying, guiding and moving food products through processing equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions on Materials for the Food Industry
Do external changes in colour due to storage or environmental influences have a negative impact on the semi-finished product?
Semi-finished products or cut blanks are produced with plus tolerances in accordance with recognised industry standards, so that the outer shell – and consequently any discolouration or scuffing – can be removed without fail during finished-part production.
How is consumer protection safeguarded for plastics which come into contact with food?
The main objective is to exclude negative reciprocal impact between the plastic component and the contacted foods, in the form of organoleptic, colour-related and, primarily, toxic effects. Seamlessly applied declarations of conformity at every manufacturing level are key tools in the assurance of food safety. Added to this are traceability data using the methods of good manufacturing practice (GMP), implemented in quality assurance systems with verifiable documentation of product and process data.
Does Façade Creations supply material in accordance with FDA and other US regulations?
Façade Creations’ semi-finished plastics for the food industry are compliant with directives for raw material approval under FDA regulations.
Why do end customers bear final responsibility for the declaration of conformity?
Our products and parts are not finished products with a final defined purpose and geometry as specified by the regulations. Final testing for the specific application requires knowledge of all application conditions. Influencing factors include the contact medium, contact time, and temperature and cleaning conditions. Consequently, no definitive and final assessment of migration values can be carried out on the component by the stock-shapes supplier. This task remains the responsibility of the plant manufacturer or operator, on the basis of the migration-limit information provided.
Can I get conformity declarations for plastics with direct food contact?
Façade Creations’ plastic materials designed for the food industry are manufactured in compliance with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 and FDA approval for raw materials.
Are drinking water regulations covered by declarations on food contact?
Drinking water is monitored in accordance with special regulations that are not internationally standardised at present.
Why is Façade Creations unable to take responsibility for final testing for suitability in contact with foods on behalf of customers?
In this context, Façade Creations is a supplier of products which have no use-specific finished-part geometry. Following additional processing steps to become a finished part, final inspection must be carried out on the premises of the company which distributes the end product, taking into consideration the final component design. Testing on the semi-finished product can do no more than provide an indication; it does not reflect the final status of the product, such as its surface quality.
How are simulants assigned to foods in accordance with EU Regulation No. 10/2011?
Food simulants conforming to a certain food category are selected in accordance with the relevant table in the regulation’s annex. Testing the migration value in the standard food simulants, or where applicable using substitute simulants, covers all kinds of foods, including those for which additional simulants are assigned where applicable.
Does Façade Creations guarantee material traceability?
Thanks to a specific traceability method, Façade Creations is able to determine and trace the complete process chain of its semi-finished materials.
How can products be unambiguously identified?
To ensure that products cannot be confused or mistaken, a product code is imprinted on them which contains the product name, article number and production batch.
Does the coding ink have a negative impact on its use in contact with foods?
The coding ink and coloured printing inks are tested and verified as physiologically harmless.
