Versatile, corrosion-resistant stainless steel ideal for
structural, industrial, and fabrication applications. Available
in angles, bars, channels, flats, and beams.

Stainless steel has become the defining material of the food and beverage processing industry. Its combination of corrosion resistance to food acids and cleaning chemicals, ease of sanitation, durability under CIP (clean-in-place) cycles, and non-reactive surface makes it uniquely suited to environments where hygiene is not a preference but a regulatory requirement.

The challenge for engineers and fabricators is not whether to use stainless steel, but which grade and form to specify. Using the wrong grade in a high-chloride environment, or selecting a surface finish that traps bacteria, can undermine the hygienic design of equipment and lead to costly maintenance or compliance issues.

Stainless Shapes supplies food-grade stainless steel across the full range of forms and grades your application requires, with the material knowledge to help you get the specification right.

Food processing equipment in the United States must comply with multiple regulatory frameworks depending on the food type and processing method. 3-A Sanitary Standards govern equipment design for dairy and some food applications. USDA regulations apply to meat and poultry facilities. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has elevated expectations around equipment hygienic design across the industry.

While compliance certification is the responsibility of equipment designers and manufacturers, material selection is a critical input. Stainless Shapes provides material documentation, including MTRs and chemical composition certifications, that support your compliance record-keeping and quality audits.

If you have questions about which grade is appropriate for a specific regulatory context, our team can provide guidance based on industry practice and standard specification requirements.

The most common grade selection decision in food processing is between 304 and 316L. Both are corrosion-resistant, hygienic, and widely available, but they are not interchangeable in every environment.

• Choose 304 when your application involves fresh fruit and vegetables, dry ingredients, baked goods, confectionery, or food-processing environments that use alkaline or low-chloride cleaning chemistry. Grade 304 provides excellent value and performance in these conditions.
• Choose 316L when your application involves salt, brines, seafood, or meat; when your CIP protocol uses high concentrations of chlorinated sanitizers; or when your facility is in a coastal location with elevated chloride in the ambient environment. The molybdenum in 316L provides meaningful additional protection against pitting corrosion in these scenarios.

Stainless Shapes stocks a full range of structural and tubular sections in 304 stainless for food facility construction and equipment fabrication. Available forms include beams, channels, angles, flat bars, tubes, and pipes. These are the backbone of food-safe mezzanines, equipment frames, conveyor supports, overhead pipe runs, and wall bracketing where carbon steel cannot survive daily wash-down and humid operating conditions.

Having structural and tubular forms available from a single supplier reduces lead time and simplifies certification documentation across your project. If you are unsure which grade is appropriate for your specific application, Stainless Shapes specialists can discuss your environment and process chemistry to make a recommendation.

• Brewing and Beverage: Fermentation vessels, bright tanks, transfer lines, heat exchangers, and structural brewery equipment fabricated from 304, 316L, and 316Ti.
• Bottling Plants: Stainless Shapes supplies 304 half-round bars, commonly used as wear rails and bottle guides on filling lines, along with structural beams, channels, angles, tubes, and pipes that make up the framework of bottling-plant conveyance systems. 
• Meat and Poultry Processing: 316L for chill rooms, cutting tables, conveyor frames, and brine injection equipment exposed to salt and aggressive USDA-approved sanitizers.
• Dairy Processing: Pasteurizers, cheese vats, butter churns, CIP systems, and structural framing for 3-A compliant dairy equipment in 304 and 316 grades.
• Grain and Dry Food: Conveyor troughs, storage hoppers, elevator legs, and structural supports in 304 stainless steel, resistant to corrosion in humid grain environments.
• Seafood Processing: 316L for all product-contact surfaces and structural framing in high-salt, high-moisture seafood processing environments where 304 would experience pitting.
• Facility Structural: Stainless beams, channels, angles, tubes, and pipes for mezzanines, walkways, equipment platforms, overhead pipe runs, and wall framing that must survive daily aggressive washdown without corroding or contaminating product.

• Food-Grade Documentation: MTRs and chemical composition certification available to support FDA, USDA, and 3-A compliance record-keeping.
• Grade Selection Expertise: Our team can walk through your process environment, CIP chemistry, and finish requirements to recommend the right grade and form.
• Structural and Process Sections: We stock beams, channels, angles, flat bars, tubes, pipes, and half-round bars in 304 stainless steel, covering both structural framing and conveyor wear components that food facilities and bottling plants need.
• Competitive Pricing: Broad inventory depth allows us to offer competitive pricing on the most common food-grade grades without sacrificing quality or documentation.

Is Grade 304 stainless steel safe for direct food contact?

Yes. Grade 304 stainless steel is widely used and accepted for food contact applications globally. It is non-reactive with the vast majority of food products, resistant to organic acids, and can be cleaned and sanitized effectively. It complies with FDA 21 CFR regulations for food-contact materials and is the most commonly specified grade in food-processing equipment.

Do you stock 5/8 inch half round bar in 304 stainless?

Yes. Stainless Shapes stocks 5/8-inch half-round bar in Grade 304, a size commonly specified for bottle guide rails, conveyor wear strips, and product-contact guides in bottling and filling line applications. The smooth, radiused surface of the half-round bar reduces friction and wear on bottles and containers moving through filling and labeling equipment, while the 304 grade provides the corrosion resistance and cleanability that beverage and food production environments require.

When should I use 316L instead of 304 in a food processing environment?

Specify 316L (or 316) when your application involves exposure to chlorides, including sodium chloride brines, chlorinated CIP sanitizers at higher concentrations, seafood processing environments, or coastal facilities with elevated ambient chloride. The molybdenum in 316L significantly improves resistance to pitting corrosion in these conditions compared to 304.

What surface finish should I specify for product-contact surfaces?

For product-contact surfaces in food processing equipment, a surface roughness of Ra 0.8 microns or below is the general industry guideline, consistent with 3-A Sanitary Standards. A 2B or BA mill finish typically achieves this. For the most demanding sanitary applications, an electropolished finish is specified. Non-product-contact structural members generally do not require a specific sanitary finish.

Do you supply stainless steel structural sections for food facility framing?

Yes. Stainless Shapes stocks angles, channels, flat bars, and beams in 304 stainless for structural applications in food facilities, including equipment platforms, mezzanines, conveyor supports, and wall bracketing that must survive aggressive daily wash-down environments.