Food Grade Machined Plastic Parts


Molded, extruded and machined plastic parts and components are often used in food equipment and systems. This includes equipment that processes and prepares the food for consumption, as well as equipment that packages the final product for delivery to customers.

Many plastic parts used on food equipment are within the food zone and may come into direct contact with the product stream, increasing the risk of contamination. In addition, these parts often subjected to intensive and frequent cleansing. For these reasons, materials used in the manufacture of food grade plastic parts should be selected carefully.

What are Machined Plastic Parts?

Machined plastic parts are those produced on equipment especially designed to cut, shape and contour plastic materials. At CRG, we use advanced CNC technology to produce machined plastic parts. These technologies allow superior quality and finishing, greater precision and tolerancing, and lower costs since they eliminate the expensive molds and tooling associated with other production methods.

Food Grade Machined Plastic Parts: Key Challenges

Key challenges that plastic parts used in food equipment must face include the following:

  • Plastic parts must be capable of withstanding repetitive cleansing and resisting chemical attack in wet/dry environments. Cleansing is often carried out with bactericidal compounds and steam/water under high temperature and pressure.

  • To help ensure health and safety, food grade plastic parts are often fabricated from plastic materials that contain antimicrobial additives that help eliminate, kill and prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi, while resisting mildew and discoloration.

  • Food grade plastic parts should not release contaminants into the product stream. Parts should comply with the purity requirements set forth in applicable standards and regulations (see below).

To ensure that these requirements are met, food grade plastic parts should be fabricated from materials that are compliant with recognized food safety standards and regulations, including FDA, USDA, NSF/ANSI 51, 3-A, and others that may be applicable within a given jurisdiction.

Food Grade Machined Plastic Parts from CRG

CRG serves two key market segments with the production of food grade machined plastic parts:

  • Food processors and packagers. Whether your food processing business includes processing, production, or packaging, CRG can serve your needs for aftermarket or replacement food grade machined plastic parts for your equipment and systems.

  • OEM food equipment manufacturers. CRG can provide OEM food equipment manufacturers with the food grade machined plastic parts that are used in their products.

Food grade machined plastic parts we make are fabricated from materials compliant to recognized industry standards, including FDA, NSF/ANSI 51, and 3-A. These materials include engineered plastics such as UHMW, Polypropylene, Nylon, Etralyte® and others, as well as high-performance plastics such as Kynar® and other PVDF’s, Ketron® HPV, and more.

Food Grade Machined Plastic Parts: CRG Capabilities

CRG offers food processors and equipment OEM’s a complete array of processing options that save time and money. These include the following:

  • Custom cutting. We can cut food grade plastics to maximize yields and ensure tight tolerances.

  • CNC routing. We use state-of-the-art CNC equipment to produce a variety of shapes, contours and surfaces. Capabilities include circles, discs, square, rectangular, or complex geometry parts, mill-down surfaces, radius edges, drill, countersunk and counterbored holes.

  • Fabrication services. CRG fabrication specialists can produce parts to customer specifications, including those that are shaped, polished, laminated or bonded.

From prototyping to production, CRG can help with your food grade machined plastic parts needs. Please contact our sales team at crg@canadarubbergroup.com for more information.