The Difference Between Food Grade and Medical Grade Silicone

1. Food grade silicone rubber products

Unlike other elastomers in the world, silicone rubber products have been widely used in many fields of food-grade materials due to their excellent purity, odorless, non-toxic, non-corrosive and inert properties.

Baby products

Because of its excellent high temperature resistance, health performance and physiological inertia, silicone rubber is widely used in infant products, such as pacifiers, comfort pacifiers, children's toothbrushes and children's drinking cups straw and sealing ring are mostly made of silicone rubber.

Kitchen supplies

Silicone rubber because of its good heat resistance, aging resistance and sealing property, and widely used as a sealing material of kitchen supplies, such as rice cooker, pressure cooker storage tank, kettle, thermos bottle seal gasket. Due to its good plasticity, heat and cold resistance, certain hardness, good elasticity, and no deformation when heated at high temperature, silicone rubber can also be made into ice lattice, cake mold and baking pan and other food molds.

Usually, all silicone rubber products in contact with food must meet the food standards of some countries and regions. At present, the international detection of silicone rubber materials in contact with food can be roughly divided into several series: the United States FDA, the European Union standard, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare standards.

2. Medical silicone rubber products

Due to its non-toxic and inert behavior, medical-grade silicone is the most widely used synthetic elastomer of all synthetic rubbers in permanently implanted subdermal devices. Although certain fillers and vulcanizing agents are used in silicone rubber manufacturing methods, rubber does not contain various additives and is used as a compound component in the organic rubber mixing process. There are two types of medical-grade siloxanes: room temperature vulcanization and thermal vulcanization.

Platinum catalytic vulcanization system is recommended for medical silicone rubber products. Peroxide curing is not recommended because it can leave or bloom an acid residue after the curing process. Medical silicone is used to make feeding tubes, catheters, implants for long and short term use, seals and washers, syringe pistons, scar treatment silicon wafers, gels, condoms, menstrual cups, breathing masks and more. In the United States, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) regulates medical-grade silicone implants under FDA regulations. In addition, the European regulatory framework for medical devices applies to medical-grade silicone.

3. Key differences between food grade and medical grade silicone rubber products

With the progress of science and technology in the world and the gradual deepening of people's understanding of various materials, silicone rubber products have become widely used in people's life because of its excellent high and low temperature resistance, good hand feel, health performance, physiological inertia, weather resistance and so on.

In addition, silicone rubber is highly resistant to oxidative attack by ozone and ultraviolet rays, especially at high temperatures. This characteristic ultimately improves its service life, even at high temperatures. Silicone rubber has good tensile properties and low glass transition temperature. Because of these excellent properties, silicone rubber can be used in a wide temperature range of 100℃ to 200℃.

The key difference between food-grade and medical-grade silicone rubber products is their use. Food-grade silicon is used to make products that come into contact with food, while medical-grade silicon is used to make pharmaceuticals and implant devices.