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Difference Between Food Grade and Ordinary Silica Gel

By Clara October 20th, 2022 294 views
Is food safe silicone edible? How to distinguish food safe silicone from ordinary silicone? You may have many questions before making a decision on the silicone product purchase.

Silicone products are more environmentally friendly than plastic products, so they are becoming more and more common in our daily life and extremely widely used. 

Is food-grade silicone edible?

of course not. In general, silica gel is a safe, non-toxic, and harmless raw material to the human body. Even so, it can be divided into food grade and ordinary grade.

What is the difference between food grade silicone and ordinary silicone?

1. Price: Food-grade silica gel is higher than ordinary silica gel

2. Quality: Food-grade silica gel is higher than ordinary silica gel. Stretching does not turn white, and temperature resistance. Anti-aging strength, product texture, service life, and food-grade silicone are much better than ordinary silicone.

3. Application areas: Food-grade silicone is more widely used.

Ordinary silica gel is generally used in some industrial products. Food safe silicone is generally used on products that come into contact with our diet. For example, food grade silicone is widely used in baby pacifiers, baby sippy cups, and some of our cup lids. 

Food-grade silicone rubber products are silicone products processed from food-grade silicone rubber raw materials. According to market demand, it needs to meet the environmental testing requirements of NSF, FDA, ROSH, RECH, and so on.

Advantages of food-grade silicone: 

  • High transparency, product color can be customized
  • High temperature resistance, highly resistant to damage and degradation caused by extreme temperatures
  • Tear resistance, not discolored after being pulled
  • Safe, odorless, non-toxic, recyclable, and environmentally friendly
  • Lightweight, space-saving, and easy transportation
  • If properly cared for, it will not harden, crack, peel, chip, dry out, rot or become brittle over time 

How to distinguish food safe silicone from ordinary silicone?

Method 1: Hard pulling and visual inspection method 

This method is very simple, you can instantly test it when you see the product. Just a visual inspection. 

How to operate? Hold the silicone product with your hands, focus on one place, and then pull it hard to both sides. If there is a white part, it is ordinary silicone, and if there is no white, it is food-grade silicone.

Method 2: Smell

Put your nose close to the silicone product and smell it. If it is pulled white and has a pungent smell, it can be concluded that it is ordinary silicone, not food grade.

Visual inspection is the most widely used method. Simple and practical. If the product turns white when pulled up and has a pungent odor, it can be concluded that it is ordinary silica gel, which does not meet the food-grade standard.

Note: The silica gel does not turn white when pulled up, but also has a slight smell. It is also food-grade, because it is produced in the production process, does not affect the quality of the product, and can also be eliminated by itself.

Method 3: Check the certification

Food grade silicone is environmentally friendly. FDA and other related certifications are required. Ordinary silicone is not food-grade certified.

Our silicone products, such as suture practice products and injection training products are made from food-grade silicone that meets FDA safety. Silicone is made from alternating silica and oxygen molecules. 

Ready to cooperate with Pro-Health? Check out our full product line and follow us on Facebook for more info on our growing medical training products! 

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