4 replies to this topic

[matthewcc]

Hello all,

 

Another question I had that is similar to my last one is, is 316 stainless steel necessary as opposed to 304 stainless steel for food-contact surfaces on equipment?  In other words, is 304 stainless steel substandard?  I saw a post from 2019 about 316 stainless steel for food-contact use, but was not clear if other grades are suitable, and the link from back then (to a BRCGS article, presumably) is broken.  We manufacture dietary supplements in the United States and are certified for SQF and NSF GMP.

 

Thank you,

Matthew

[SQFconsultant]

Since your inquiry is posted in the SQF Food section of the forum I assume you are asking if SQF requires 316 - the answer is NO, SQF does not specify specs on SS, thus 304 is fine.

[jfrey123]

Both are suitable.  You can get into the weeds based on your product composition as to whether you need to be worried about corrosion (specifically from sodium chloride).  I'd be surprised as to whether an auditor would actually try to take an issue with the grade you choose, but in case you do, throwing some documentation from published research journals can help you defend whatever choice your plant goes with.  One example below:

 

304 Vs 316 Stainless Steel - Which Food Grade Pipe is Better? | % Metinox Overseas

[Leila Burin]

Hello, 304 SS is also used in the food industry, depends, as stated above, on the production chemical reactions.

It is well described in the EHEDG White Paper: see point 4.3, page 6.

 

 

If you have metal detectors, pls be aware to be coherent and the SS of the probes shall be the same of the SS of the devices used (they have different detectability patterns).

best regards,

Leila

Attached Files

•  EHEDG_DOC_08_English.pdf   279.1KB   3 downloads

[Aartisharma98]

Hello all,

 

Another question I had that is similar to my last one is, is 316 stainless steel necessary as opposed to 304 stainless steel for food-contact surfaces on equipment?  In other words, is 304 stainless steel substandard?  I saw a post from 2019 about 316 stainless steel for food-contact use, but was not clear if other grades are suitable, and the link from back then (to a BRCGS article, presumably) is broken.  We manufacture dietary supplements in the United States and are certified for SQF and NSF GMP.

 

Thank you,

Matthew

since both are good what you also would wanna look is chemicals, ingredients used in sanitation activities, & processing which type of ss type is prone to deteriorate, easily detectable by metal detector,etc,. Choose the one suitable for your business.