O-rings and the Food & Beverage Industry

The CDC estimates nearly 48 million people get sick, 128,000+ are hospitalized, and 3,000+ people die from foodborne illnesses each year in the United States. While being a preventable problem, the US Government passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011 with hopes of “transforming the nation’s food safety system by shifting the focus from responding illness to preventing it.”

To prevent foodborne illnesses from occurring, FSMA investigated the day-to-day operations of food and beverage processing rather than the finished product. During investigations, a huge problem was uncovered. Exposure to the continuous harsh conditions of food processing plants, O-Rings eventually were worn out. Particles from the rubber contaminated the food which, if it went unnoticed, were consumed by unexpecting customers. Problems like this were one of the main causes of foodborne illnesses in the United States.

Introduction of the Metal Detectable O-Ring

These new regulations set by FSMA introduced a new standard of o-rings and gaskets. With today’s modern equipment that can scan and detect metal containments, why not introduce that same principle in sealing elements that wear and break as well?

Standard O-Rings are made up entirely of elastomer rubber material such as silicone or nitrile. Metal detectible fillers were blended into these standard o-rings which would allow them to be detected in line by metal detectors. Once detected, the fragments could be removed by hand or with a magnetic separator. Even when packaged, X-Rays can be used to easily spot and loose materials that could’ve snuck their way in.