Food & Beverage Case Study

Food & Beverage CIP Sealing: Passing 1,000+ Clean-in-Place Cycles

EPDMFDAFood & BeverageCIP Resistance

temperature

80°C CIP

chemicals

Caustic, acid, PAA

cycles

1,000+

certification

FDA peroxide EPDM

Challenge

A beverage dispensing equipment maker needed FDA-grade EPDM seals that would not impart taste or odor, while resisting aggressive CIP chemicals.

Solution

We recommended a peroxide-cured FDA EPDM compound with optimized accelerator package for low extractables and high CIP chemical resistance.

Result

The compound passed taste-and-odor testing and maintained sealing performance through over 1,000 CIP cycles.

Details

The customer's equipment was used in craft breweries and soft drink dispensing systems. Seals were exposed to hot caustic soda (2% NaOH at 80°C), phosphoric acid, and peracetic acid during daily CIP routines.

Standard sulfur-cured EPDM showed surface cracking after 400 cycles and failed taste-and-odor panels due to accelerator residues. We reformulated the compound using a peroxide cure system with a low-extractable accelerator package.

Samples were submitted for independent taste-and-odor testing according to EN 14350-1. The peroxide-cured EPDM passed with no detectable off-tastes or odors.

Accelerated CIP cycle testing confirmed the seals maintained elastic recovery and surface integrity beyond 1,000 cycles. The customer has specified this compound as standard for all new dispensing platforms.