Hoses intended for food industry can come into contact with food products and semi-finished food products. Hose material must not contain any substances that can migrate into food, endanger human health, deteriorate taste and quality of foodstuff. The inner layer of the food hose is made of high quality and high purity rubber and plastic materials, which are compliant with the regulations of  European Union and FDA.  These regulations include the requirements concerning:

• materials approved to come into contact with food;
• allowable content and migration values of additives the quantity of hose components that leak from the hose material into simulants that act like particular types of food;
• appropriate marking e.g. symbol (a glass and a fork);

There are separate national standards for potable water. Lots of hoses for food products, particularly the hoses which meet the raised requirements of e.g. US Pharmacopoeia can be also used in the cosmetics industry and pharmaceutical industry. When selecting the food hose, it is important to choose the hose suitable for the particular cleaning method used in the installation e.g. CIP (Cleaning in Place) or sterilisation e.g. SIP (Sterilisation in Place).

Careful selection and assembly of fittings and couplings is equally important for the installation to be hygienic. AISI 316 stainless steel couplings with appropriately finished inner surface of low roughness are in common use (see: stainless steel hygienic couplings in INDUSTRIAL FITTINGS section). The couplings are fitted using worm-drive clamps, bolt clamps or crimped with ferrules.

To find more hoses suitable for the transfer of foodstuffs, check the following groups: general purpose, chemical, material handling hoses (dry and loose foodstuffs), ducting hoses, metal, PTFE and silicone hoses, peristaltic pump tubing and TYGON® tubing.