Rotary shaft seals for Food Processing.
Food production runs on tight tolerances and hard CIP cycles. Sealing equipment in dairy, bakery, snack, and dry-ingredient lines isn't a mechanical problem — it's a regulatory and cleanliness problem. The seal that fails in food service doesn't just leak; it contaminates a batch and triggers an audit.
01The challenge
Why sealing this service is hard.
These are the failure modes our application engineers have catalogued from twenty-five years of food processing installations. Most are visible only after a seal has been pulled.
- 01
Daily caustic CIP destroys conventional secondaries
3 % NaOH at 180 °F for 30 minutes per cycle, repeated daily, will swell or extract every standard FKM secondary inside six months. Spec sanitary EPDM and verify the COA, not the catalog page.
- 02
Crevice-free is non-negotiable
FSMA and 3-A both require continuously cleanable contact surfaces. A seal with an unwelded gasket pocket or a porous casting will fail an audit before the inspector reaches the bearings.
- 03
Dry powder migration into bearings
Sugar, lactose, flour, and infant formula are abrasive solids that grind shafts and bearings unless the seal positively excludes them. Air-purged contact seals do this; lip seals don't.
- 04
Allergen and cross-contamination risk
Switching products on a shared line means the seal cavity must purge and rinse cleanly. Designs with internal pockets retain product across changeovers and trigger allergen-control failures.
02Recommended series
What we ship for food processing.
7800 Series CEMA
All-stainless, washdown-rated seal for food, dairy, and pharma equipment.
View specsSeriesCHOPChopper Seal
Engineered for the 3,600 RPM chopper, not adapted from a slow-speed seal.
View specsSeries75007500 Series
Workhorse seal for screw conveyors, mixers, and dry bulk handling.
View specs03Common equipment
Where we typically install in food processing plants.
04Compliance & materials
Documentation we ship with the seal.
- FDA 21 CFR §177.2600 statement of compliance with every sanitary unit
- USDA accepted-materials letter for direct meat, poultry, dairy contact
- 3-A standard 13-12 conformant variants for fluid-dairy service
- Surface-finish certificates (Ra ≤ 32 µin) provided on request
05Engineering FAQ
What plant engineers ask before specifying.
Food Processing · sized in 24 hours
Get a recommendation for your food processing application.
Send equipment type, shaft size, and what's flowing through. A CinchSeal application engineer with food processing experience responds with a sized series, materials, and pricing.