Food-grade wall panels, chosen by how hard the room is washed.
No wall panel is food grade by itself. The rules describe what a wall has to do: shed water, clean up and stay in good repair. Pick the face by how hard the room gets washed.
Insulated panels are installed by our crews or supplied material-only. FRP and UtiLite are supplied only; the contractor doing the work installs them.
What the room holds, its temperature, what it is washed with and how often, and the square footage. Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM.
Food grade is a job the wall does.
In a USDA-inspected meat or poultry plant, walls, floors and ceilings must be built of durable materials impervious to moisture, and cleaned and sanitized as needed (9 CFR 416.2(b)(2)).
In an FDA-regulated food plant, floors, walls and ceilings must be built so they can be adequately cleaned, kept clean and kept in good repair (21 CFR 117.20(b)(4)).
Neither rule lists approved panels. Each describes a surface. The inspector looks at the finished room: the faces, the joints, the corners and how it cleans.
Six faces, from a wiped wall to a steamed one.
Washed, not held cold: FRP
A non-absorbent fiberglass sheet that wipes clean and takes a hose, with trim on every edge and a PVC base cove at the floor. Supplied only.
FRP for kitchens and food plantsWet all day, and white: UtiLite
An extruded PVC panel with tongue-and-groove edges, in white only, with fewer seams than sheet. Supplied only.
UtiLite interlocking panelsHeld cold: white polyester on G90
The standard insulated panel face: Imperial White modified polyester over G90 galvanized steel, 26, 24 or 22 gauge. Finished both sides, so there is no blanket or liner to get dirty.
Cold storage panelsCaustic washdown: Plastisol
PVC-coated steel. Don Ross says it lasts longer than polyester where caustics are used, and it feels rubbery under a fingernail. That give lets it move with temperature swings and washdowns.
Chemicals and humidity: CLEANsafe 120
A PVC film laminated to the metal, for rooms where wash-down chemicals and wet air would take an ordinary paint finish apart.
CLEANsafe 120Hot water, steam and pressure: 304 stainless
A 304 2B stainless skin, 26 or 24 gauge. Don has watched caustics wear painted faces down to the galvanized steel. Some of his food plant customers wash down twice a day with hot water, steam and pressure, and use stainless only.
Stainless wall panels
Don Ross on faces that hold up to washdown.
White panel finishes for washdown
The panel that holds up to washdown
Why stainless in a wash-down room
Smooth or embossed
The joint matters as much as the face.
A washable face with a joint that holds water is not a washable wall. On an insulated panel, the concealed joint is set in a bead of butyl, the vapor barrier, and the exposed joint takes urethane or silicone. On some food plants we have broken metal over the horizontal girts and vapor sealed them, so no flat girt holds water. Send the room, what it is washed with and how often, and we will tell you which face and joint fit, and quote it.
Questions buyers ask
What makes a wall panel food grade?
No wall panel carries a food-grade rating. The federal rules describe the surface: impervious to moisture, cleanable and kept in good repair. The inspector judges the finished room, joints and corners included.
What do the rules say about walls in a food plant?
USDA's rule for inspected meat and poultry plants says walls, floors and ceilings must be durable, impervious to moisture, and cleaned and sanitized as needed (9 CFR 416.2(b)(2)). FDA's rule for food plants says they must be built so they can be cleaned, kept clean and kept in good repair (21 CFR 117.20(b)(4)).
Does USDA keep a list of wall panels?
Not in its facility rule. 9 CFR 416.2 says what walls must do, not which product to buy. Your inspector and your sanitation program decide whether the room passes.
Which wall panel face lasts longest in a washdown room?
Stainless. Don Ross's food plant customers who wash down twice a day with hot water, steam and pressure use stainless only. Plastisol outlasts standard polyester where caustics are used.
Is FRP food safe?
FRP is a non-absorbent sheet that wipes clean and takes a hose, used in kitchens and in food plant rooms that are not held cold. A cooler or freezer gets an insulated panel instead.
What about food grade cold storage panels?
A cooler or freezer in a food plant takes an insulated metal panel. Choose its face the same way: white polyester for ordinary cleaning, Plastisol or CLEANsafe for chemicals, stainless for the hardest washdown.
Do you install food plant wall panels?
Insulated panels, either way: our crews install them, or we supply them material-only. FRP and UtiLite we supply; the contractor doing the work installs them.
Sources
- 9 CFR 416.2(b) and (d): Establishment grounds and facilities (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, current)
- 21 CFR 117.20(b)(4): Plant and grounds (US Food and Drug Administration, current)
How is the room washed?
What the room holds, the temperature, the cleaning chemicals and how often, and the square footage. Attach drawings below.
(216) 631-8080Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM. 3195 West 63rd Street, Cleveland, OH 44102.
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