A true hero in food safety

We all trust that our food and drinks are safe and of high quality. In fact, most people pay very little attention to food safety. And that’s thanks to you, the industry, always keeping food safety top of mind. You are the unsung heroes, keeping billions of people around the world safe and satisfied.

But every hero needs a good sidekick – and we have one to offer you support. Get ready to discover a true hero in our Food line portfolio: Our hygienically designed ball bearing units.   

Hygienic design
– critical for food safety

Hygienic design is an essential ingredient to avoid recalls and comply with regulations. SKF Food line ball bearing units are designed from the ground up, component by component, to improve hygiene at washdowns, proactively protect your products and ensure compliance.

increase in USDA and FDA food recalls since 2012¹

of food recalls due to bacterial contamination and undeclared allergens²

(€8,7 million) is the average cost of a significant food recall³

1 Food Safety Tech Staff, "FDA Food Recalls Up Nearly 93% Since 2012," Food Safety Tech, Feb 16, 2018.
2 Stericycle, “Recall Index,” Q4 2017.
3 Allianz, “Product recall risks growing in size and number, as technology drives new triggers, warns Allianz,” Dec 5, 2017.

Read our e-book about food safety

This e-book gives you a deeper understanding of your HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) risk points around food zones. Gain new insights and inspiration. 

Billions of people around the world rely on your industry’s efforts. Thanks to you, they can eat and drink without having to think about food safety. However, gaining more knowledge will strengthen your abilities even further. That’s why we’re happy that you’re interested in downloading our e-book on food safety. Fill in the form below, and we’ll send it to your inbox right away. 

This is SKF Food line ball bearing units

The story behind the innovation

Watch the innovation story in the video to the left. Here you will learn more about the gutter inspired sealing system and how the development team raised the bar for bearing unit hygienic design.

Hygienic design

The hygienic geometry of the housings reduces the possibility of contaminant traps.

The insert bearing made of food grade rubber is over-moulded with the composite housing to form an effective base seal against the mounting frame.

The back seal prevents contaminants from entering the bearing cavity by sealing statically against the housing and dynamically against the shaft.

The end cover forms an effective interference seal with the housing and incorporates positive locking to prevent dislodging.

Bearing performance

Achieving outstanding bearing performance requires an effective bearing grease and an innovative approach to bearing sealing system.

Our patent-pending design includes gutters that guide detergent away from the bearing, allowing the seals to offer high levels of protection and low energy consumption.

You can learn more by watching the animation to the left.


Industry approved components

FDA and EC approved thermo polyurethane elastomer end cover.

Insert bearings of stainless steel or zinc coated, pre-lubricated with NSF H1, Halal and Kosher approved grease. Allergen free. The sealing system is made of stainless steel flinger and approved by FDA. Synthetic rubber in blue colour.

Blue polypropylene composite FDA approved housing with overmoulded FDA and EC approved rubber base seal. The blue coloured back seal is also FDA approved.

Get all the details and find the right bearing for your needs.

Reduce unnecessary risks to food safety

Reduce the risk of bacteria build-up in hard-to-clean areas through the hygienic design of the units.

Minimize the spread of bacteria growing in excess grease from relubrication. Reduce allergen contamination if contained in the grease.

Follow industry regulations by using food grade materials. Reduce the risk and consequences of potential contamination with optically detectable components.

Increase uptime

No need to stop equipment for bearing re-lubrication and/or shorten the time for planned maintenance.

Reduce cleaning time and cleanability inspection time by 33% – compared to when needing to clean excess grease and unit design is not hygienic. 

By ensuring the sealability of complete units and optimizing the performance of insert bearings, both bearing life and reliability are enhanced, thereby contributing to higher asset availability.

Reduce cost and the need to re-lubricate

With a high performing insert bearing and unit seal ability – you reduce the cost and frequency of bearing replacement – through planned or unplanned downtime.

With our relubrication-free feature, you eliminate the re-greasing and labour costs, as well as cost of unplanned stops due to human error.

How much do you pay for lubricating your bearings? Estimate your cost of bearing re-lubrication here:

Reduce environmental costs by requiring 33% less heated water for cleaning open bearing units and less cost for purchasing and disposing of grease absorbents.

How much can you save on making a smaller environmental impact?

Foster preventive versus disposal oriented environmental culture

Prevent

  • Wastage of production due to unplanned downtime
  • Wastewater contamination from bearing excess grease
  • Disposal of grease absorbents

Reduce

  • Hot water needed to clean bearings
  • CO₂ through less energy consumption to power the bearings and frequency of replacement

Recyclability and zero landfill

  • 59% of the product can be recycled*
  • 41% is energy recovered
  • 0% landfill

* Based on recyclability analysis by Stena Recycling

How do SKF Food Line ball bearing units support proactive food safety?

”Reduce the risk to food safety by choosing bearing units designed for hygiene and relubrication-free”

- Microbiology and hygiene expert at RISE

I want to know more

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