Vesconite Bearings’ Hitemp 160 polymer bearing material has been approved for use in food-contact applications. This is according to CEO Dr Jean-Patrick Leger, who received the formal certification letter from the Laboratoire National De Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE) ﹣ the French public institution tasked with the voluntary or regulatory certification of products, management systems and services.

The LNE states that the bearing material complies with European Regulation n°10/2011/UE and amendments and, as such, is approved for food contact. This follows Vesconite supplying a sample of its material to the testing body in January and its passing of a series of immersion tests required by the testing organisation in April.

The certification is important since many clients require Vesconite’s materials to operate in food processing environments, and to be assured that their processing plants are contaminant free and safe.

Hitemp 160 is white in colour so no colour is transferred from the bearing to the food product and no visible foreign material can be detected in the final product. It also possesses many other required characteristics: it does not swell, so it is appropriate for the often moist food-processing environment; it is extremely wear resistant, making it ideal for food products or intermediate food products that are abrasive; it is suitable for contact with cold and hot water, operating up to 160°C (320°F), and, in many applications, even up to 220°C (425°F), so it is fitting for processing plants which are exposed to the steam and high tempera-tures; and has excellent chemical resistance, both to strong acids and strong alkalis, so it with-stands many cleaning chemicals.

“We believe that the food industry will enthusiastically adopt our material and are pleased our material has been tested for use in this industry,” says Leger.