Today’s Trends in Food-Grade Applications
Today’s food grade applications must be developed with advanced materials that satisfy current safety and performance requirements and also appeal to consumers who have a wide range of choices. From improving aesthetics and enhancing performance to innovating new products and features, food contact manufacturers must adapt to the most current trends to meet industry demands. Solvay helps OEMs respond to these trends and stay ahead of competitors with versatile polymers that provide outstanding performance across a range of categories.
Engaging Aesthetics
In response to the growing trend for visually appealing goods, OEMs must develop products that appeal to more specific groups of consumers. To successfully create food contact goods that offer the necessary combination of features and aesthetics, manufacturers need innovative new materials that allow for versatility and unique appearances where metal and glass may be limited. Solvay’s high-performance polymers give OEMs unmatched aesthetic performance and improved design flexibility as they respond to changing industry trends for appearances. For example, Ixef® PARA offers very high strength and stiffness with an outstanding surface finish to enhance aesthetic parts.
Reliable Performance
In addition to impressive aesthetics, food contact applications must also offer dependable and high-quality performance. As consumers continue to demand more from their kitchen appliances, manufacturers must deliver high-performance products designed with advanced materials that provide desired properties. From increased thermal stability and chemical resistance to improved durability in response to steam and pressure, food contact applications must combine excellent performance with appealing aesthetics. Solvay’s polymers for food-grade applications help OEMs promote improved performance in a wide range of products.
Accelerated Innovation
Although metal and glass have traditionally been used in food contact goods, these materials may limit manufacturers’ ability to innovate in today’s industry. Specialty polymers facilitate innovation in food contact goods that respond to industry trends, while providing consumers with appealing aesthetics and excellent performance. With faster prototyping and quicker production and assembly processes, Solvay’s high-performance polymers aid manufacturers as they work to develop and produce innovative food-grade applications. Solef® PVDF, for example, is injection moldable and extrudable to assist OEMs in developing efficient processing and more innovative product designs.
Evolving Regulations
Continually changing regulations for food contact materials creates an additional challenge for today’s manufacturers. As consumers become more informed on product safety and research expands our knowledge of environmental consequences, OEMs must adjust to new regulations about the materials that can be used in their products. Due to the increasing use of plastics in food contact applications, polymer suppliers need to supply safety certifications to help manufacturers innovate and keep their customers safe. Although metal and glass have provided adequate performance in the past, manufacturers are turning to alternative materials like Solvay’s specialty polymers to successfully meet today’s performance requirements and adhere to current safety regulations.
