Silicone Solutions for Food Processing & Packaging

Silicones are used at all stages in the food processing cycle: from large-scale industrial facilities and restaurants to home cooking, as well as in food packaging and labeling. Easy to use, safe in handling and application, odorless and with no modification of the food properties; Silicones are hard to beat for all your food processing needs!

Elkem provides antifoaming and defoaming solutions to improve processing in the Food industry.

In industrial processing, silicone antifoams or defoamers are essentially employed in direct and undirect food-contact applications.

They are used in various food and beverage applications in order to control or eliminate unwanted foam during the production.

Foaming issues in food and beverage processing applications can negatively impact efficiency, productivity and cost. Silicone antifoaming agents from Elkem have been designed to safely and effectively reduce problems with foam under the numerous conditions encountered when processing foods and beverages. And whether used as pure liquids or powders or in a compound or emulsion, silicone antifoams are more effective than organic antifoaming agents.

The Elkem SILCOLAPSE™ line of compounds and emulsions offers several 100% active silicone antifoam compounds and a variety of water-based food contact silicone antifoam emulsions that are safe for use in many aqueous food processing systems. These silicone products contain only  components which comply with the strictest of national and international regulations.

Our SILCOLAPSE™ range offers different foam-control agents to meet the diverse needs of the food processing industry:

• Silicone oils are used for controlling foam in nonaqueous systems.
• Silicone compounds are used for controlling foam in aqueous systems.
• Silicone emulsions are used for applications where media is mainly water.

In food processing, the regulations are numerous and diverse depending on zones / countries laws.

For any questions on regulations, please refer to our customer service which will provide adapted statement from our product stewardship department.

What are the main applications and advantages of silicone-based foam control solutions for the Food Processing industry?

Silicone foam control solutions (also referred to as anti-foams or defoamers) are recognized as the material of choice because they offer several advantages compared to organic or mineral substances.

Foams issues can drive to serious problems for processing of goods. High amount of foam can reduce equipment capacity, increase manufacturing times, decrease product quality and impact safety.

Silicone defoamers prevent foam and reduce it quickly with persistency.

The quantities of silicone anti-foam products needed to achieve the required effects are much lower than organic defoamers, they offer more durable lower surface tension, especially important in complex and long-lasting processes. They are inert and therefore safer for people and the environment.

Our product offering

Elkem offers its customers a wide range of products that meet specific needs in all processes of the Food Processing industry. Here are several examples of products available globally:

• • SILCOLAPSE™ 5020 is a 27% emulsion with a good compatibility with various media.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ 7140 is a 40% emulsion featuring high active content, food contact and process aid approval.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ 723 is a highly effective FDA emulsion. For any zone out of North America, please contact your regional commercial team regarding regulation compliance.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ RG11 is a 20% emulsion, effective in a wide pH range and multipurpose.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ A is a compound with food contact and process aid approval. Depending on the regulations, this product can be authorized in food contact and indirect food additives applications but never as food additives.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ 710 is a highly effective FDA compound.
  • SILCOLAPSE™ 411BR is a compound with ease of handling and processing.

As mentioned above, this list is an extract of our SILCOLAPSE™ products available worldwide. For more information, you can contact our representatives in your area or request more documentation available on this page.

Why choose Elkem for your defoaming solutions in Food Processing industry ?

To begin with, we have 60 years of providing effective and innovative silicone defoaming solutions to the Food Processing industry and related high-foam industries such as Crop Care. Elkem expert teams have developed a full range of silicone foam control agents and processing aids to meet the entire chain of technical requirements in Food Processing. We always work closely with our customers to back them with our on-site technical services and are devoted to providing them with the best products backed with process and application guidance.

Elkem is a fully integrated global silicone manufacturer, mastering the full value chain from quartz to specialty silicones. This way, we can offer or achieve increased process efficiency and operational excellence, help to reduce maintenance, energy consumption and waste, ensure safety for operators, all of which contribute bringing down Total Cost of Operations.

Customers can work with our technical and sales representatives, conveniently located near major Food Processing production centers on all continents. Other services also include regulatory support, assistance to roll out productivity programs, training for teams and collaborative work on new developments.

Elkem provides release agents solutions to improve packaging processing in the Food industry.

Silicones are also widely used as release agents in food processing because of their non-stick and slip properties to detach food efficiently and cleanly from molds and cooking trays.

Indirectly, in industrial food processing, silicones are used as surface components in conveyor belts because they can be designed to have the right non-slip and non-stick characteristics combined with a durability without pair. They are also highly efficient sealants for equipment operating in extreme conditions, from the cold room to high-pressure and high-temperature cookers. And, of course, they also enter into the lubricants used in many of the moving parts in machinery.

For packaging, silicones are used as gaskets to seal the lid to the container for their airtight and waterproof characteristics. They are also ideal for delivering self-adhesive labels to their end destination. Commonly used on bottles or food packs for decorative labels to enhance packaging design as well as variable information packaging such as bar codes and for supermarket weighing scales.

Silicones are widely chosen for cookware in restaurants and bakeries, as well as in home cooking, because of their anti-stick and easy-slip characteristics. They durably resist extreme temperatures (hot and cold) and are totally inert, odorless and non-toxic, in accordance with food regulations of all major countries. Finally, they are a key component of non-stick cooking papers used for baking and roasting.

In short, silicones are ideal for hygienic food processing, biocompatible food packaging and cooking convenience!

Here are some Elkem product lines used in food processing:

SILCOLAPSE™: a wide range of tailor-made defoamers 

SILCOLEASE™: a line of reactive multi-purpose emulsion systems, providing excellent food release (in particular for baking processes) and barrier properties as well as good curing and anchorage, low foaming and high bath stability in processing

SILBIONE™ TCS : food-compatible products used for the manufacturing of conveyor belts because of their simultaneous anti-slip and non-stick properties, to keep goods in position and allow their easy release.