MechChem Africa July-August 2024

⎪ Power transmission, bearings, bushes and seals ⎪

Food line SRBs: a new food safety benchmark To help to maintain food-industry hygiene standards, SKF has released the first spherical roller bearings (SRBs) to be specifically developed and designed to comply with all the necessary global regulations in the food and beverage industry.

A ny 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 pro cess poses potential harm to consumer health. Fundamentals of food safety are the measures taken by food processing companies to miti gate food contamination. These range from wearing protective clothing, such as hairnets, masks and gloves; routine personal hygiene practices, such hand-washing; and they also include strict cleaning procedures such as washdowns of the hygienically designed ‘food grade’ machines, equipment and components. In a bid to address these bespoke needs, SKF developed and designed the first spheri cal 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,” says Saien Rugdeo, indus trial distribution development and regional sales manager at SKF South Africa. “In addi tion to lowering the risk of food contamina tion, increasing machine performance and reliability, raising hygiene standards and extending service intervals, these bearings also boast a longer service life: on average, up to three times longer compared to SKF open spherical roller bearings.” The high-performance, nitrile butadi ene 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 fur ther value by reducing relubrication and related costs. Rugdeo adds

that the seals are blue in colour to facilitate the detection of fragments in the unlikely event they should end up in the food. The self-aligning bearing is manufactured from high fatigue-resistant steel to the SKF Explorer performance class, increasing dy namic 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 CO 2 emissions, and second, the longer lasting bearings require less frequent replacement, thus reducing the demand for raw materials, manufacturing, and transport, which all contribute towards CO 2 emissions. Also, grease leakage is virtu ally non-existent, mitigating the need for repurchases, relubrication and disposal.” The introduction of the Food line spheri cal roller bearings further extend SKF’s food industry offering following the launch of its Food line deep-groove ball bearing two years ago. www.skf.com

Left: Fully regulation compliant SKF Food line spherical roller bearings are designed to raise hygiene standards in the food and beverage industry. Right: SKF Food line spherical roller bearing incorporates FDA- and EC-approved seals are prefilled with food grade grease.

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