Any operation involved in food manufacturing and processing has to adhere to extremely strict regulations and for good reason. Companies in the food service business are compelled to sustain best food safety practices as any form of contaminant entering the process poses potential harm to consumer health. Fundamentals of food safety are the measures taken by food processing companies to mitigate food contamination. These range from protective clothing wear e.g. hairnets, masks and gloves and personal hygiene practices i.e. hand-washing, to strict cleaning procedures and using hygienically designed ‘food grade’ machines, equipment and components.
In a bid to address these bespoke needs, SKF developed and designed the first spherical roller bearings specifically for the food and beverage industry. These Food line spherical roller bearings help to maintain food-industry hygiene standards and are fully compliant with all necessary global regulations.
“Our Food line bearings are pre-filled with NSF category H1 food-grade grease and incorporate integral FDA- and EC-approved seals,” states Saien Rugdeo, Industrial Distribution Development & Regional Sales Manager at SKF South Africa. “In addition to lowering the risk of food contamination, increasing machine performance and reliability, raising hygiene standards and extending service intervals, these bearings also boast a longer service life on average of up to three times longer compared to SKF open spherical roller bearings.”
The high-performance, nitrile butadiene rubber contact seal protects against water, detergent and contaminant ingress. Moreover, as the risk of grease leaking from the bearing is minimised, the seal adds further value by reducing relubrication and related costs. Rugdeo adds that the seals are blue in colour to facilitate the detection of fragments should they, in the unlikely event, end up in the food.
The self-aligning bearing is manufactured from high fatigue-resistant steel to the SKF Explorer performance class, increasing dynamic load carrying capacity and reducing vibration and heat generation.
Rugdeo points out that the SKF Food line bearing helps to improve sustainability. He explains: “The low-friction seal reduces energy consumption and CO² emissions and secondly, the longer lasting bearings require less frequent replacement, thus reducing the demand for raw materials, manufacturing, and transport (CO² emissions). And finally, grease leakage is virtually non-existent, mitigating the need for repurchase, relubrication and final disposal.”
The introduction of the Food line spherical roller bearings further extend SKF’s food industry offering following the launch of its Food line deep-groove ball bearing two years ago.
