Is Your Bearing Food-Safe? Here's how to check.
Because the next auditor won’t care how clean the floor looks, if your bearings aren’t food-safe and they’re leaking behind the scenes.
In food production, hygiene isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s mission critical. You might have spotless floors, PPE on point, and a cleaning schedule fit for a pharmaceutical lab. However, there’s one place food safety risks love to hide: deep inside your bearings.
If your bearings are rusting, leaking grease, or tucked away behind flaky housings, you’ve got a potential contamination issue — even if everything looks clean on the surface. And when a hygiene auditor starts looking, these hidden issues are often the first thing they find.
So, how do you know if your current setup passes the food-safe test? Here’s a clear and simple guide to checking your bearings before your next hygiene audit.
1. Is the bearing Fully Sealed?
A bearing’s seal is its first line of defence. Without a proper seal, high-pressure cleaning forces water and chemicals straight into the housing. As a result, grease gets washed away and corrosion creeps in. Once that happens, contamination is only a matter of time.
✅ Fully sealed? You’re ahead of the game.
❌ Not sealed? Water ingress is almost guaranteed.
💡 IP66 is the minimum standard. Anything less is risky business in food-safe zones.
Even if you think your cleaning process is gentle, remember that food production environments are harsh. Heat, chemicals, and spray jets will always find weaknesses in your seals.
2. Is the Lubricant food-safe: NSF H1 Approved?
If grease leaks out (and it will), it must be food-safe. When there is a leak, the grease inside your bearings needs to be safe for incidental food contact. NSF H1 lubricants are certified for this purpose, and they are essential for meeting hygiene standards.
✅ NSF H1 approved? Safe and compliant.
❌ Not NSF H1? That’s a contamination risk waiting to happen.
Think about what happens during a washdown: water and cleaning agents strip away lubrication. Therefore, if you’re not topping up with the right food-safe grease, you’re risking both bearing failure and contamination.
💡 Check out Perma’s NSF-compliant auto-lube systems for those hard-to-reach areas.
3. Is the Housing Made for Washdowns?
Mild steel and painted housings don’t cut it in washdown environments. The wrong material choice leads to flaking paint, rust, and compromised hygiene. Food-safe bearings use stainless steel or polymer coatings that resist harsh cleaning chemicals and maintain a hygienic surface.
✅ Stainless or polymer-coated? Built to last.
❌ Not resistant? It’s going to fail — visibly and internally.
It’s not just about appearances. Corrosion inside housings often goes unnoticed until a failure occurs mid-shift. That’s when downtime and audit flags become very real.
💡 Browse LDK’s food-grade bearing housings to see what a proper spec looks like.
4. Does the Housing Allow Water to Drain?
Pooling water under or around a bearing creates a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Your bearings and mounting surfaces should promote drainage after every wash.
✅ Drainable design? Good to go.
❌ Poor drainage? You’re hosting a microbial pool party.
For example, inspect mounting points carefully. Even the most hygienic bearing can fail if it’s sitting in a puddle of rinse water. Therefore, drainage-friendly design is critical in preventing hidden bacterial growth.
💡 Ambersil’s NSF-certified sprays pair well with drainable systems for added protection.
5. Is It Certified for Food Contact?
Hygiene standards don’t just apply to surfaces you can see. Bearings in food production zones need certification under NSF, FDA, or EU 1935/2004 regulations. Without it, you’re leaving yourself exposed during audits.
✅ Certified and documented? Safe.
❌ No certification? Hope the auditor doesn’t look too closely.
Certification isn’t just a tick-box exercise. In fact, it’s proof that the components are designed to cope with the realities of food production environments.
6. Are You Maintaining It Properly?
Grease breaks down fast in washdown zones. Whether you use manual or automatic systems, re-lubrication needs to be consistent and hygienic. Even the best food-safe bearings will fail if they’re not maintained correctly. Manual greasing is prone to human error, whereas automated systems ensure consistent, hygienic lubrication.
✅ Auto-lubricated or well-managed? Great.
❌ Neglected? Bearings are running dry or overfilled.
Remember, a missed lubrication cycle is all it takes for a bearing to run dry. Similarly, over-lubrication risks seals blowing out. Both can trigger contamination risks.
💡 Godiva can advise on automated solutions to keep your food-safe setup running perfectly.
What’s Your food-safe Score?
✔️ 5–6 Yes Answers: You’re ahead of the game. Keep it clean and keep it up.
⚠️ 3–4 Yes Answers: Danger zone. Review your specs and upgrade where needed.
🚨 0–2 Yes Answers: Book some downtime — you’re running risky.
Why This Matters (and Why Now)
Here’s the brutal truth:
- Hygiene audits often trace failures back to overlooked parts like bearings.
- Grease streaks, rust flakes, and pooled water aren’t just cosmetic — they’re contamination hazards.
- A single bearing failure can shut down an entire production line, forcing unplanned downtime and expensive clean-ups.
- Failed hygiene audits lead to more than just fines – they damage reputations, cause product recalls, and in some cases, result in regulatory action.
- Customers expect food manufacturers to have zero tolerance for contamination. One incident can undo years of hard-won trust.
- Moreover, suppliers are under increased scrutiny. A food-safe bearing isn’t just a preference; it’s quickly becoming the baseline expectation across global supply chains.
- With increasing regulation and consumer awareness, staying ahead of potential issues is more critical than ever.
All because the wrong part was specified, or no one checked what was hiding under a cover. That’s why assessing the food safety of your bearings now, before problems arise, is essential.
Conclusion: Check Your Bearings Before Someone Else Does
Your bearings don’t need to be expensive — they need to be food-safe. That means sealed, certified, and designed for real-life cleaning routines. Therefore, don’t wait for your auditor to find the weak link.
Check out Godiva’s food-safe bearing range and download The Complete Guide to Bearings in Food Production to learn more.
TOM HAMLETT
Tom Hamlett is a respected authority in the global bearings marketplace, with over 35 years of experience in industrial bearings, lubricants, and adhesives across a wide range of industries. As Managing Director of Godiva Bearings, Tom has built a trusted business renowned for its commitment to quality, technical expertise, and ethical service. Under his leadership, Godiva Bearings has remained the UK’s only trade-exclusive bearings supplier, proudly serving engineers and distributors worldwide since 1977. Tom’s in-depth knowledge and dedication have cemented his reputation as one of the most knowledgeable figures in the sector.