Solvay Introduces Three Food-Safe Polymer Solutions

Leading global supplier of high-performance speciality polymers, Solvay, has announced three Ryton PPS additions to its portfolio for food and beverage applications.

Leading global supplier of high-performance speciality polymers, Solvay, has announced three Ryton PPS additions to its portfolio for food and beverage applications. Two of the new editions - Ryton R-4 242 and Ryton R-7 232 PPS are completely new, whilst the Ryton R-4 232 PPS was previously available, but is now proven safe for food contact.

“The release of these new developments extends the portfolio to higher temperature applications for the food, beverage and household appliance industry,” Umberto Bianchi, from Solvay Specialty Polymers tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“It is in alignment with Solvay’s strategy to provide the broadest portfolio of food approved high performance plastics.”

The Solvay food-safe PPS polymers target applications including food-industry appliance components that need to be completely reliable over the long-term at temperatures of up to 200°C (392°F). This includes deep-oil fryers, coffee machines, ovens and microwaves.

The company expects a lot of interest over the coming months mainly in the sectors of “household appliance applications for ovens and fryers, as well as cookware and professional foodservice applications like trays and dishes,” adds Bianchi.

Solvay’s three food-safe PPS polymers are each available as natural or black-colored grades. Ryton PPS compounds offer best-in-class long-term heat resistance combined with excellent dimensional stability, very low moisture absorption, strong chemical resistance and inherent flame retardancy.

Their high flow offers designers and molders easy processability of complex parts. Solvay’s three new food-contact PPS grades comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NSF51 requirements, as well as the European Union’s EU 10/2011 regulations for use as a component material intended for in food contact applications.

“Fierce competition amidst increasingly stringent regulations is driving food industry OEMs to seek innovative new materials that combine greater design flexibility with safety and performance,” says Andreas Lutz, Market Manager for Consumer Products at Solvay Specialty Polymers.

“With the introduction of these advanced PPS polymers to its food and beverage portfolio, Solvay has expanded and strengthened its already impressive offering of high-performance resins for this market.”

“It further provides industry OEMs new options vs metal and thermosets. These Ryton grades are inherently flame retardant, making them especially suitable for applications that require both contact compliance and UL 94 VO flammability.”

Source: Solvay