Food industry

Framework regulation EU 1935/2004 sets the principle: materials in contact with food must not, under normal and foreseeable conditions of use, transfer their constituents in quantities that endanger human health, change food composition unacceptably or impair organoleptic properties. For plastics this is specified by EU 10/2011, which maintains specific migration limits (SML) and a positive list of approved monomers and additives.

Rotogal containers made of food-grade polyethylene meet both the overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² and the specific SMLs for every additive used in the formulation. For the US market, FDA approval 21 CFR 177.1520 completes the regulatory coverage — meaning our containers can be used for North American exports without material changes.

The declaration of compliance (DoC) documents all this verifiably and is supplied per batch with every order. For recurring deliveries we update the DoC automatically when formulations or regulations change — for your QM that means one less audit topic on the annual agenda.

The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) defines principles for surfaces that can be cleaned safely under production conditions. Core requirements: no dead spaces, no sharp edges in the product area, Ra ≤ 0.8 µm on contact surfaces, drainage slopes of at least 3° and radii > 3 mm in inside corners.

Rotationally moulded containers form those geometries in a single piece. Welds, bolted joints or glued-in inlays are eliminated — exactly where Listeria, E. coli and biofilms would otherwise settle over weeks. Studies from meat and dairy production show: in welded stainless steel containers, seam and corner areas account for 60–80 % of all environmental samples with critical germs.

On request we supply geometries with integrated CIP connections, matched spray-ball positions and 3° drainage slopes — including 3D component models to validate your cleaning process. A container becomes an integral part of your hygiene concept, not just a transport vessel.

Stainless steel V4A often costs 3–5× as much per container as a rotationally moulded PE variant. Add higher cleaning costs (heavier weight, more drying), higher noise emissions in operation and a repair-intensive welded construction. After 7–10 years, significant refurbishment is usually due.

Polyethylene containers from Rotogal last 10–15 years at the same duty cycle, weigh 40–60 % less, are quiet in operation and can be fully recycled by polymer type at end of life. Based on our project data, Total Cost of Ownership is 35–55 % below a stainless steel solution — with the added benefit that damage is usually prevented at the point of origin: PE dents where steel tears.

Compared to wooden solutions the gap is even wider: wood absorbs water, loses load capacity, generates splinters and is often no longer allowed at all in HACCP-critical zones. A high-grade PE container system is mid-term even cheaper than continuously re-procured wooden pallets — especially when foreign-body contamination and recall risk are included in the calculation.