Everything You Need to Know About Food Safe 3D Printing

For anything that comes into contact with food, safety considerations must be a top priority to ensure the health of the person eating it . In recent years, 3D printing has taken the food industry by storm. Not only can 3D printing be used to produce food, but it can also be used to make parts that come into contact with food, such as plates, cutlery, and even packaging. Of course, if a part (even one made with 3D printing) is to be used with food, it must be "food safe." But Are 3D printed products really safe? If you plan to print and sell anything that will come into direct or repeated contact with food, you must take precautions to prevent the growth of bacteria and toxic substances.

What are the most important considerations when it comes to food safety when it comes to 3D printing? The following guide answers these questions and takes a closer look at some of the relevant materials and how to ensure their 3D printed parts are food safe.

What is food safety?

When it comes to food safety 3D printing, we first need to define what food safety is. Generally speaking, the "food safety" of a material refers to the state in which the material can come into direct contact with food. Any material that is called food safe will meet certain requirements determined by its intended use and will not pose a food safety hazard. Although these requirements can also vary from country to country.

Generally speaking, to be considered food safe, a part must have the following characteristics. Anyone looking to use 3D printing to make parts that come into contact with food must follow these guidelines: Will not migrate harmful (causing harm or damage) substances; Will not impart color, odor, or taste; Will be safe under normal conditions of use; Will be durable, corrosion-resistant, and non-absorbent; Will be heavy enough to withstand repeated cleaning; Will have a smooth, easy-to-clean surface free of cracks and sharp internal angles; Will resist pitting, chipping, scratching, scraping, deformation, and breakage.

(Source: 3docity)

Bacteria and toxic substances are the main challenges of 3D printing food safety. It is difficult to make products that meet food grade standards with out-of-the-box printers because bacteria can hide in the cracks between layers and are difficult to eliminate no matter how thoroughly they are cleaned. The design and use of printed products need to consider the contact with food. For example, the risk level of a container for storing raw meat is different from that of a bowl for nuts. When choosing printing materials, you need to be careful to avoid color dyes that contain toxins. Some manufacturers offer non-toxic filaments, but limit color choices to ensure safety. For 3D printing food contact products, ABS and liquid resins are unsafe choices because they may release toxic substances. When considering filaments, it is important to check the Material Safety Data Sheet ( MSDS ) to confirm its safety. Considering the risks of bacteria and toxins as well as the durability and heat resistance of the filament, choosing the most suitable filament is crucial to ensuring food safety.

Common material choices

Is PLA Plastic food safe?

Before getting into the process itself, one of the most important factors to consider when looking into food-safe 3D printing is the choice of material. This is especially true for plastics, as many have been concerned in recent years about such materials allowing chemicals to leach into food, not to mention the wider discussion about microplastics in the human body. There are a number of polymers that can be used, though. The most widely used polymer for home 3D printing is undoubtedly PLA. This material is valued for its ease of printing and for being biodegradable (under the right conditions). But will it come in contact with food? Well, there's no easy answer. Technically, the FDA defines pure PLA without colorants or other additives as food safe. However, if the PLA is colored, then those additives could leach chemicals, making it no longer suitable for food. There are other factors that make it unsuitable, too. Notably, we can point to the material's low melting point, which makes it unsuitable for use in parts that might come in contact with heat (like a coffee cup or something designed for a microwave). That said, it can't be placed in a dishwasher and can't be cleaned properly, meaning the part may need to be used once to avoid bacterial contamination. These factors make PLA not the most food-friendly material, despite it being classified as safe by the FDA .

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Of course, PLA isn’t the only material that can be considered food safe. Other polymers on the FDA’s list of food safe polymers include polypropylene, PETG (PET is the material used in plastic bottles, although PETG, like PLA, is only food safe if there are no additives such as color in the filament), PA11, PA12, and silicone. These industrial materials may be safer than standard thermoplastics like PLA. Of course, even if a material is food safe, that doesn’t mean the final part is safe enough, depending on the process used to make it.

Is SLA technology food safe?

In short: this is not a good idea. Resins are generally toxic and not suitable for contact with food, and most SLA resins are toxic in both cured and liquid form . Resins also wear off easily (forming a fine powder on the surface). There are various dental or low-odor resins, but these are made for special purposes and are very expensive. If you want to make 3D printed tableware, it's best to stick to an FFF printer and certified epoxy resins.

How to ensure food safety through 3D printing?

Although food-safe 3D printing is possible, ensuring its safety requires comprehensive consideration of multiple aspects such as material selection, printing process control, and subsequent processing. First of all, it is crucial to select materials suitable for food contact. FDA-approved materials are usually preferred because they have been rigorously tested and reviewed and can be safely used for food contact. However, even if FDA-approved materials are used, there is no guarantee that 3D printed parts will fully meet food safety standards.

(Source: Global Food Safety Resource)

How does 3D printing with FDM, SLS, or resin affect the final part ? FDM 3D printing remains the most popular process today and the one that manufacturers are most likely to see when making parts that may come into contact with food. First, in terms of the nozzle, most 3D printers will have a brass nozzle. But some of them have been found to contain trace amounts of lead. The safest choice is a stainless steel nozzle, as this material is FDA-approved and does not contain PTFE tubing (because Teflon is toxic at high temperatures) . It is also recommended to use a direct extruder instead of Bowden. During the printing process, special attention needs to be paid to controlling the cleanliness and temperature of the printing environment to reduce the ingress of external contaminants and ensure the smoothness and consistency of the surface of the part. In addition, choosing the appropriate printing settings and parameters is also a key factor in ensuring the quality of the part, such as appropriate layer height and filling density. After the print is completed, subsequent processing steps such as cleaning, disinfection, and surface treatment may be required to ensure the food safety of the part. Finally, it is also very important to regularly maintain and clean the 3D printer to prevent the accumulation of contaminants and bacteria and ensure the normal operation of the printer. In summary, by taking multiple aspects into consideration and taking appropriate measures, the food safety of 3D printed parts can be ensured to the greatest extent, but it is still necessary to recognize that food safety is a complex issue that requires continuous attention and efforts to solve. Printing food-grade tableware is not as simple as printing ordinary models. Many of the detailed rules mentioned above need to be followed to prevent the models from posing risks to food safety .

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