1. Differences in how safe and pure the raw materials are
High-purity organosilicon is used to make food-grade silicone. The goal of the design process is to make sure that harmful substances don't leak out when the material is in long-term touch with food, drinking water, or baby products. Heavy metals, plasticisers, and bisphenol A are some of the potentially dangerous ingredients that are tightly controlled. The materials are also made to have no smell and not change the taste of food. When it comes to industrial grade silicone, physical qualities like resistance to wear
and oil, resistance to high and low temperatures, and cost control are more important. It lets fillers or useful additives be added, which could be bad for the food environment. Because of this, food grade silicone is "centred on human safety" and industrial grade silicone is "centred on equipment durability." You can't mix the two.
2. Regulatory standards and testing requirements
Food-grade silicone has to follow strict rules set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the German LFGB, the European Union (EU) for food contact materials, and the Chinese GB for food safety. Not only does the testing check to see if the material is safe, but it also mimics real-life usage situations, finds the total amount of migration, specific migration substances, smell and taste effects, and checks the safety under high temperature and long-term usage situations. The physical qualities of industrial grade silicone are mostly about things like its tensile strength, tear resistance, resistance to ageing, and resistance to both high and low temperatures. Since it doesn't need to identify food migration, it shouldn't come into direct contact with food or water.
3: Production process and cleanliness control
For food-grade silicone to be made, the working environment has to be cleaner, and cross-contamination has to be strictly controlled. To make chemicals safer and more stable, secondary sulfurization is often used to get rid of leftovers with low molecular weight. In production, there needs to be a batch management and traceability system in place so that if there are quality problems, it is easy to find the batches of raw materials and production methods. When making industrial grade silicone, the focus is more on efficiency and keeping costs low. There is no need for secondary vulcanisation, strict standards for cleanliness, and loose tracking of batches.
4. Smell, look, and long-term security
There isn't much of a smell to food-grade silicone, or there is a small silicone smell. It doesn't change the taste of food, stays the same colour even in hot or humid places, and its chemical properties stay stable after long-term use. It won't release dangerous substances even after being disinfected several times, cleaned at high temperatures, or bent many times. It's possible for industrial-grade silicone to smell, change colour, or move around. Also, using it in food systems for a long time could make them unsafe and contaminated. it shouldn't come into close contact with food or water.
5. Differences between usage scenarios and applications
People mostly use food-grade silicone in places where it will come into direct or indirect contact with food. Examples include food-grade silicone hoses, drinking water equipment pipelines, coffee machine internal pipelines, milk tea equipment, filling production lines, baby and toddler products, and kitchen utensils. Industrial grade silicone can be used in places where it won't come into touch with food, like mechanical seals, shock absorbers, industrial pipelines, and insulation parts. Its main benefits are that it doesn't wear down easily, doesn't absorb oil, and is cheap. Using industrial-grade silicone in the food system could change the way food tastes and could also be against the law and pose brand risks.
6 Cost changes and risks of not following the rules
Food grade silicone costs more than industrial grade silicone because the raw materials are more pure, the production method is more complicated, and there are more strict testing items. But this part of the cost is actually an investment in safety and compliance, which can help keep the brand's image from getting hurt by recalls, fines, and other problems. Industrial grade silicone is cheap, but if it is used in food or drinking water systems by accident, there are very serious consequences, such as having to recall the product, being unable to ship it, or even being sued. Suppliers should have to show regulatory certification and testing reports, as well as production methods and batch traceability systems, when they are being bought from or chosen. Suppliers with a lot of experience in the medical or food business should be given extra attention.
