Letters to SRG
This letter is in response to our August issue articles about the NSF and how it rates food-zone safe surfacing products.
Dear Rich:
You would have done your readers a bigger service by telling them, which, if any, engineered stone products do not meet the NSF standards for Food zones. Every major manufacturer, Cambria, Caesarstone, Hanstone, Zodiaq, Silestone, and Pental are all Food zone certified. While I haven’t any statistics, it’s probably safe to say those 6 manufacturers comprise 95% of the engineered stone marketplace. It’s also safe to assume that the remaining 5% are manufactured in substantially the same process, and would thereby claim the same level of sanitation.
While you’re looking up the non-designated e-stone manufacturers, perhaps you could add non-designated granite manufacturers to your search.
I’ve done a fair amount of commercial solid surface work and have seen Corian specified by architects for hospital surgical room wall cladding. I have yet to see granite specified for this application.
http://www.cambriausa.com/en/Advantages/
http://info.nsf.org/Certified/food/Listings.asp?TradeName=caesarstone&Standard=051&
http://www.leezasurfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HanStone-NSF-Approval.pdf
http://www.pentalquartz.com/uploads/pdf/msds_vicostone.pdf
http://info.nsf.org/Certified/Food/Listings.asp?Company=0C410&Standard=051
Sincerely,
Joseph Corlett
CBC1259693
Dear Joseph:
Thanks for your letter. When I first heard about this issue, the idea of just publishing the names of materials that did not conform occurred to me. As we did more research we learned that the NSF tests each brand, not just the manufacturer of the material, and also inspects each production facility. As Mr. Kohler of the NSF pointed out, the only way to know if a material is certified as “Food Zone” is to go to the NSF website. Anything that we would publish would be immediately out of date. The NSF keeps their website current.
What we found as we looked at advertisements and at materials is that most of the advertisements showed a countertop in the photo. We found products featured in these ads that were in fact not “Food Zone” certified. I don’t have access to market share information so I have no way to determine the percentage of sales by brand, but the number of different brands offered for sale is very large. I have been told that there are in excess of a hundred manufacturers worldwide of this type of material and that the number is expected to grow. Because this (man-made) material is covered by patents and trade secrets, the details of how it is produced are not common knowledge.
As you pointed out, many of the large manufacturers that you mentioned do have products certified as “Food Zone,” but it only takes one rogue exception to throw a shadow on the others.
That is why we published the article. It seems to me that the best thing is for all of the producers to go through the certification process so that there isn’t a question, and if there are problems the issues can be resolved before the material is used in homes.
Regarding specs for hospitals, it is my understanding that the NSF certifies man-made materials, not natural materials. A building spec for NSF/ANSI 51 could not be met using granite or any other natural material. I did ask about the safety of natural material and my understanding is that natural materials are considered safe but outside the scope of the NSF. The MIA has taken a leadership position on the testing of Granite for countertops. The information that I have seen has convinced me that Granite countertops are safe and my experience is that they are easy to clean and maintain. For more information about natural stone the Marble Institute is a great source.
Best regards,
Rich Hassert