Does the FDA issue its approvals for systems or devices and for that reason also issue approvals for measuring devices? Find out more in the following post. There are always uncertainties with this topic, which is why I?d like to shed more light on the question in this blog post.
What’s the FDA?
The FDA (?Food and Drug Administration?) is really a US authority under the Department of Health. It is responsible for the tabs on foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals and serves to safeguard public health in america.
When should FDA requirements be looked at?
The FDA?s control includes both US-made and imported products. That is why, regular audits are completed at overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers. US-approved drugs may only be made by FDA-inspected manufacturers whose facilities comply with FDA regulations.
How are plants and equipment assessed for FDA requirements?
The FDA does not grant approval for measuring instruments. The assessment is carried out relative to general GMP requirements (?good manufacturing practice?). These must already be taken into account in the planning of the plant as must also the selection of suitable measuring instruments:
Liquids which could find their way in to the end product in the event of a failure should be FDA-compliant. These can, for example, be transmission fluids or fill fluids.
Seals that are in touch with the measuring medium should be manufactured from FDA-compliant material. As proof, a material certificate for the seal must be available.
Process connections should ideally have 3-A approval to ensure that the connections are suitable for sanitary applications. Instruments with 3-A marking have already been shown to meet up with the specifications for radii and surface roughness (Ra < 0.8 ?m).
Metallic parts which come in contact with the media should have a 3.1 material test certificate in accordance with DIN EN 10204. In sterile engineering, it is better use CrNiMo steels, of quality 1.4404 and 1.4435 or 316L. (For example, WIKA uses 1.4435 because the standard material for applications in sanitary applications, because it has improved corrosion properties compared to 1.4404 as a result of lower delta ferrite content).
The measuring instrument should be calibratable and the accuracy should be confirmed by 3.1 or DAkkS certificate.
Productive will stand in the form of the success of your FDA audit, so long as you take the aforementioned points into account.
Note
More info on our products are available on the WIKA website.