There are many food grade greases out there. What do the ratings mean?

NSF

Most food grade greases are rated using the NSF standard. The NSF is a public health and safety organization that specialise in certifying a massive variety of products and processes throughout the world. The breakdown of food grade classifications for oils and greases are as follows:

NSF H1 – Food Grade Grease

This is probably the most common NSF classification. NSF H1 refers to products that are accepted to be suitable for incidental contact with food. This means in general less than 10 parts per million.

NSF H2 – Grade Grease

These greases are not rated for any contact with food whatsoever. However they do have limits on certain toxins etc, and are used elsewhere in the factory.

NSF 3H – Food Grade Grease

These are fully edible oils. Quite often they will be used as release agents, or similar. Many times these are vegetable oils or synthetics, although highly purified mineral oils are also used.