Zur Korrosion milchwirtschaftlicher Geräte aus Kunststoffen und ihre Folgeerscheinungen

Corrosion phenomena and their consequences encountered on dairy equipment made of plastics Theorists will be reluctant to apply the term “corrosion” to the interrelations between plastics and food. But the author would like to point out that a food chemist must apply much more exacting scales of value. For instance, the intrinsically unimportant porosity of a tin of condensed milk may, because of the entry of a few milligrammes of iron, render the milk unusuable with coffee. Similarly, a few milligrammes of copper from a cream pump are sufficient for the butter to become rancid within a short time. In the author's opinion, the corrosion of plastics confronts the food chemist with a similar situation. Although the extent of corrosion encountered on plastics will generally, in the food industry be fairly small, the micro-biological and organoleptic consequences are apt to magnify the corrosion effect to such an extent that the foodstuff can no longer be sold.