Food-Grade plastics

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walking dude

Gone but not forgotten. RIP
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Aug 5, 2007
6,467
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Des Moines, IOWA
not sure which category to place this in......so will start it out here, and mods can move it to where they think it should be placed

i am reading rytek kutas's book i got from inter-library loan....(asked for a copy for fathers day.......third edition), and was looking at the bacon/ham sections......and they talk about foodgrade plastics........so i googled it to find out more.........and came up with a couple great sites.......

first one is

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pl...html#foodgrade

now i know much talk about how to get rid of unwanted oders........

here is a excerpt from the weber site on that subject


Removing Odors And Stains From HDPE Buckets
Since HDPE buckets are somewhat porous, they can hold odors and stains from foods like pickles or barbecue sauce. If you score a free bucket from a restaurant, try this cleaning routine suggested by USA Emergency Supply. It has worked pretty well for me.
Wash the bucket inside and out with warm, soapy water, then rinse.
Place the bucket outside in a sunny location.
Pour 1 cup of baking soda into the bucket and fill with warm water all the way to the top. Stir to dissolve, then put on the lid, or cover with aluminum foil.
Let the bucket sit in the sun for several days, then empty and rinse out.
Pour 1 cup of bleach into the bucket and fill with warm water all the way to the top. Stir to mix, then put on the lid, or cover with aluminum foil.
Let the bucket sit in the sun for several days, then empty.
Wash again inside and out with warm water and dishwashing liquid, then let dry with the lid off.


another great site i found


http://www.survival-center.com/foodfaq/ff17-equ.htm

and their method for removing oders.......specially pickle buckets

OK, I've got some used food grade containers, but they're pickle buckets. How do I get the smell out?
I've had fairly good luck doing it this way. Since vinegar is the primary smell in pickles and it's acidic, we used a base to counteract it. First we scrubbed the bucket well, inside and out, with Dawn dish detergent. I imagine most any sort will do. Then we filled the buckets with hot water and dissolved a cup of baking soda in each. Stir well, get the bucket as full as you can and put the top on. Put the bucket in the sun to keep it warm so the plastic pores stay open as much as possible. In a couple of days come back and empty the buckets. Rinse them out, fill with warm water again and add about two cups of bleach and reseal. Put back in the sun for another couple of days. Empty out and let dry with the tops off. We completely eliminated the vinegar smell this way. It might be possible to cut the time down a lot, but we haven't experimented that much since we can't get that many pickle buckets.


hope this will help out the newbies when they move into areas such as bacon and ham making/smoking

i also recommend kutas's book: "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing"

hth
 
WD, thanks for the great link. It has some really good and useful information. Thiis link is a keeper!
 
Just a little to add.... colored plastics are typically more "absorbant" than natural or the clear plastics due to the composition of the color concentrate mixed in with the "virgin" plastic.(depending on the plastic) ie- PETE-HDPE-PVC-LDPE- Polypropelene-etc.... The color concentrate added in pellet form usually has a high amount of low density Polyethylene... or LDPE. LDPE also has a lower melt fracture than HDPE which when not annealed can "break down" or try to return to its original form at lower temperatures.... what does all this mean.... when placing colored food containers in high temp settings- microwave or dishwasher....more so the microwave.... eating out of a petrolium based (any poly) container at its "break down" temp or near it just doesn't sound good to me....
 
you could also go to sams or walmart and ask for their empty 5 gal frosting buckets that they throw away!
 
I get those from Reasors grocery store here. They work really good!!!

They used to give them away but now the charge a dollar. I don't go to walmart but I need to tell my wife to ask when she goes to sams.
 
i have several grade 2 HDPE white..........would that be a good bucket to use?
it had dependable in it........not food.........but still.........a sturdy plastic........
 
I asked Smokie okie about food grade buckets awhile back. He said try to find some PET plastic and that it works best.He said it doesn't stain or collect oders.

After I use one of the buckets for curing I use it in the garage afterwords. Seems safer that way.
They say you can use bleach, but why bother.

Other than that, That's about all I know.
 
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