A gasket is a deformable material that is clamped between two sealing surfaces preventing leakage. It’s an essential product for virtually all types of industries. It actually works to prevent escaping of gas, air, water, and many other fluids in every unexpected commercial and industrial situation.

What makes gasket so crucial is, the way it performs on a variety of products and machines, this is the reason it is must to choose the right gasket among its other designs for a particular application.

If we choose gasket for FDA applications, then it’s quite a sensitive issue which goes above the food processing plants to those involved in the making of pharmaceutical products. Thousands of queries and requests are sent to many Teflon gasket manufacturers each day for providing gaskets that could comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

How Is Gasket considered FDA compliant?

A gasket is considered FDA compliant through three methods:

By Existing FDA Regulations – There are some materials which are already covered by existing regulations. For instance, perfluorocarbon saps and PTFE are found in 21 CFR 177.1550

GRAS – when gasket contains GRAS, it is assumed to be safe to use for FDA application. There are many materials which are used without problems in FDA applications and are listed as GRAS. The utilization of a sustenance substance gasket might be GRAS either through logical methods or, for a substance utilized as a part of nourishment before 1958, through experience in view of regular use in nourishment

FDA FCN – Those exclusive material which does not contain any of the single traces of above-mentioned elements are eligible to submit for FDA under a food control notification (FCN).

Things you need to consider while choosing a Gasket for FDA application

Following are the key criteria which must be considered while choosing appropriate gasket for FDA application.

Neutrality & Stability – Always prefer the neutrality and stability of material while testing it for FDA application, it means there shouldn’t be even a single percent of any unwanted odors or taste into ingredients or products with which they might come into contact.

Moreover, it should be free of all contaminants or any part which could find its way into the product stream.

Process Conditions – Another main thing to consider is, the process condition. It includes a wider range of temperature and pressure, high mechanical loads, aggressive media, and cleanness.

Consumer health & safety – The gasket material has to meet the strict regulations in order to certify the consumer’s health and safety. For instance, fixing materials intended to help consumable (drinking) water applications, are ensured as consistent to the NSF/ANSI 61 standard.

Which material should you use?

Selecting good quality gasket for food applications involves a variety of material. The two strong materials which must be considered for food application includes;

PTFE – This material is often used in pumps, valves, food mixers, and flanged joints in piping and transfer equipment. A key advantage of PTFE gasket material is that is among the most chemically resistant materials known.

Fluoro-silicone gaskets – This material is widely used in food applications.

Tips For Choosing Right Gasket

Test the Gasket Performance

If you want to get the best gasket for food application, first test its parameters. You can test it via a hot compression test, creep relaxation testing, and many more.

The picked gasket will withstand your wander’s specific components, for instance, temperature, weight, weight, adaptability, and assurance from substance degradation.

Check the Chemical Resistance

Before choosing the right gasket, first, figure out what should be the level of chemical resistance for the required gasket. It might sound a challenging task, but it’s really important to consider how gasket will fit into a specific application.