What Safety and Physical Tests Should Food-Grade Silicone Tubing Pass Before Shipping?

This is the half that keeps your product, and your customers, safe. The main checks include:

FDA 21 CFR 177.2600, the U.S. rule for rubber in repeated food contact.

LFGB, the European food-contact standard, which sets migration limits. Total migration under LFGB is held to a tight ceiling, on the order of 10 mg per square decimeter.

NSF-51, for materials used in commercial food equipment.

RoHS and REACH, which screen for restricted substances and Substances of Very High Concern.

PAH screening, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

For medical or pharmaceutical use, a Medical Grade Silicone Tubing Reinforced line adds biocompatibility testing such as USP Class VI on top of all of the above.

This is where the tube proves it can take the job. Each property has a recognized test method, which is how you compare suppliers fairly rather than trusting adjectives.

Hardness (Shore A) measures how soft or firm the material is, using ASTM D2240.

Tensile strength and elongation measure how much force the tube takes and how far it stretches before breaking, using ASTM D412. Good food-grade silicone commonly lands above 750 psi tensile with elongation well over 150%.

Tear strength measures resistance to tearing once nicked, using ASTM D624.

Compression set measures how well the tube springs back after being squeezed, using ASTM D395, typically after 22 hours at 70°C.

Low-temperature brittleness checks cold performance using ASTM D746, with good silicone staying flexible well below freezing.

Beyond the lab tests, every batch should be checked for the basics that affect fit and function: inner and outer diameter, wall thickness, and a visual inspection for bubbles, specks, or surface flaws. A tube that's out of spec on diameter won't seal properly on a barb, no matter how good the material is.

A reinforced tube has an extra thing to prove. Beyond the material tests, a Food Grade Reinforced Silicone Tubing should be checked for how well the braided layer bonds and how the tube holds pressure without ballooning. Aging tests, where samples are held at heat for a set time, show whether the material will stay stable over a long service life rather than hardening early.

Not every test runs on every tube, and that's normal. Some checks, like visual inspection and dimensional measurement, are done on a continuous or 100% basis during production. Others, like full tensile or migration testing, run on samples from each batch, because they're destructive or lab-based. The point to confirm with a supplier is that both layers exist: in-process checks on the line, plus batch lab testing with reports you can see.

A [food processing / beverage] buyer in [region] had received a shipment of "food grade" tubing that turned out soft and out of spec on wall thickness. They asked sunhingstones for a supplier that could prove its quality.

We provided the full test package: ASTM physical results, FDA and LFGB safety reports, and batch dimensional records. Over [X months], the buyer reported no failures and standardized on our line. (sunhingstones tubing was recognized at [ESTA / industry event] for [award or standout feature], reflecting our focus on tested, documented quality.)

If you want tubing that comes with proof, tell us your application and target markets, and we'll send the matching test reports and a sample to verify. Reach out to a silicone tubing manufacturer for documentation, custom specs, or a wholesale quote.