SECTOR FOCUS: FOOD-GRADE LUBRICANTS
Food-Grade Lubricants: An opportunity for FGL suppliers
Sushmita Dutta, Project Manager, Energy, Kline
Food safety is a matter of priority concern for the food processing industry, due to its direct effect on human health, not just in an industrial context but universally for consumers throughout the world. Naturally, this is not a new consideration, however in today’s globalised world of complex supply chains, there is an ever-increasing awareness of health and safety in relation to all aspects of industrial practice (particularly in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic) of which food standards are among the foremost considerations. The use of food-grade lubricants (FGLs) in the processing of food is an essential requirement for ensuring that food products remain safe and fit for human consumption.
Kline’s recent study, Food Grade Lubricants: Analysis of Major Markets, offers an insight into the FGL market in China, the EU and the UK, India, Japan, South Korea and the USA.
What are FGLs? FGL are a special category of industrial lubricants that are considered safe for incidental contact with
food and other products consumed or ingested by human beings or animals – that is to say, substances which are specially formulated to have no hazardous implications in the case of accidental ingestion (although it should be stressed that FGLs are not designed to be, in themselves, edible).
To ensure that FGLs formulations meet the very high standards required for use in machinery in which food is prepared, packaged, or transported, only the highest quality base oils and additive can be used. In addition, there are restrictions in place on both the types and treat levels of materials used in FGL manufacture.
The international safety standards which FGLs need to meet in order to be considered acceptable for use are defined by the US body, the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). NSF also defines the classifications by which they are divided into subgroups. There are five categories laid out by the NSF, based on the likelihood of potential contact with foodstuffs in the manufacture or distribution process.
Figure 1: NSF food-grade classifications
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LUBE MAGAZINE NO.167 FEBRUARY 2022
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