Ever wonder how your favorite snack manages to travel all the way to your plate without contamination?
When we think of food safety, our minds often jump to cleanliness in the kitchen, safe packaging, or proper handling by workers. But in large-scale food production, machinery is the backbone that keeps everything running smoothly.
Machines in food and beverage facilities operate constantly, ensuring that products are processed efficiently and safely. Hidden inside those machines are unsung heroes– food safe bearings.
Bearings are small, often unnoticed parts that ensure the smooth movement of machinery components, reducing friction, wear, and energy consumption.
In the food and beverage industry, they play an even more crucial role—because they are directly linked to the safety and hygiene of the food products themselves.
This article will take a closer look at how innovations in bearings for the food and beverage industry ensure cleanliness in processing, increase durability, and reduce downtime. We’ll also highlight a premier food safe bearing option from SKF.
What Makes a Bearing Right for Food and Beverage Processing?
Unlike other industries, food safe bearings must meet stringent regulations. When contamination of any kind can lead to health risks, specialized bearings must be designed to maintain cleanliness, while also withstanding the harsh cleaning procedures used in food and beverage processing facilities.
Despite the harsh conditions they live in, food safe bearings are still expected to deliver consistently reliable, efficient performance.
With all this in mind, selecting the right product in the first place is critical. Key considerations to selecting the right food safe bearing include materials of construction; corrosion resistance; temperature requirements; hygienic design; and maintenance needs.
Material of Construction
Food safe bearings need to be made from materials that can safely come into contact with food or food-related equipment and surfaces. Stainless steel is a popular choice, as it is non-toxic, corrosion-resistant, and can handle aggressive cleaning procedures.
Corrosion Resistance
Food and beverage processing environments come with moisture, cleaning chemicals, and even food acids. Corrosion resistance is critical to prevent rust, which can easily lead to contamination and equipment failure.
Temperature Requirements
You also have to consider the temperatures you’ll be working with in your facility. Bearings used for food and beverage processing must be able to withstand a range of temperatures, from cold environments like freezers and refrigerators, to high-heat applications like baking and frying.
Choosing a product with the right temperature tolerance for your operations will keep your facility running smoothly.
Hygienic Design
Food safe bearings need to be designed in a way that minimizes the amount of places that bacteria or debris can hide. This often means designs that involve smooth surfaces, and a lack of unnecessary crevices or cavities.
Hygienic design makes cleaning easier, reduces the risk of bacterial contamination, and helps processors meet stringent sanitation requirements. Two examples of hygienic design solutions are seals and lubrication.
Seals
Many types of bearings can benefit from seals. The right seal prevents contaminants like water, product, and cleaning agents from making their way into your equipment.
It’s even more important in food and beverage processing that you’re protected– downtime is costly, and cleanliness is always a top priority.
Proper sealing reduces the risk of contamination and extends the bearing’s lifespan, even in environments that undergo frequent washdowns and cleanings.
Lubrication
Bearings in food and beverage processing environments need food-grade lubricants that are NSF H1 certified for incidental contact with food.
While these lubricants are not meant to intentionally come into contact with food, these regulations ensure that if contact does happen, it won’t pose a health risk. These hard-working lubricants perform well in both high-temperature and low-temperature environments, and on a variety of components.
Maintenance Needs
How much time do you intend to dedicate to maintaining your bearings? Are they easily accessible? If you’re looking for low-maintenance solutions, look for high durability, stainless steel construction, corrosion resistance, quality seals, and drop-in replacements.
A Premier Food Safe Bearing Choice
SKF’s Peer FaBXTREME ball bearing units check all the right boxes, offering up a maintenance-free, stainless steel solution for superior corrosion protection. Maintenance-free PEER FaBXTREME units can reduce your costs and extend service life.
Hygienic design and manufacturing craftsmanship provide the advantages you need in food and beverage processing for your equipment to operate at full efficiency for years to come.
PEER FaBXTREME ball bearing units also offer extended inner rings for shaft stability and dual set screw locking. Plus, their patented FDA compliant seal with multi-barrier protection guards your bearings against contamination during regular use or washdowns.
These IP69K rated FaBXTREME products use FDA/USDA approved Mobil grease FM222 lubricant, which is NSF H1 registered, DIN51825 certified, and Halal & Kosher certified. Housings are available in stainless steel or FDA-compliant polymer housings. Housing types include pillow block, tapped base pillow block, 2-bolt flange, 3-bolt flange, 4-bolt flange, take-up units, and hanger units.
Plus, drop-in replacements make for fast and easy installation– which means less downtime.
3 Bonus Tips From Our Experts
- Even food safe bearings need routine cleaning to ensure they’re free of contaminants. Be sure to use cleaning agents that won’t degrade seals or lubricants, and check the manufacturer’s recommendations for chemical compatibility to avoid corrosion or damage.
- Don’t overload your bearings! They can fail prematurely if you do, possibly causing downtime, lost product, or worse, injuries. Ensure proper sizing and loading according to the machinery’s specifications.
- Take the time to give your food safe bearings a once-over for visually detectable issues. Make sure that you’re scheduling routine inspections that include visual inspections, among other standard maintenance like checking seals and lubricants.
IBT Knows Food & Beverage Processing
You know that we know bearings. It’s in the name, after all. But we also know food and beverage processing! Our experts are ready to help you find the right solution for your food and beverage application. And don’t forget– we can assist with replacement parts! Request a quote here.
Prefer to see us face-to-face? Click here to find the location nearest you. You can also always call us at 913-428-2858.
Or, explore our products on ShopIBT.com from the comfort of home! From electric grain motors, to bucket elevators, to 3A hose, we have what you need for food and beverage processing.
Want to learn more? Check out this video to learn more about how FaBXTREME bearings can save your facility time and money.
Explore SKF Products on ShopIBT.Com!
For All Your Bearing Needs
