Containers?

[French]

Help! I'm a complete novice who was very excited on Saturday and today I am distraugt. A neighbor suggested I tap my trees. I've always wanted to but didn't know how. He drilled the holes, put in the taps/hoses and loaned me the 5 gallon buckets. Therein lies the problem. They are recycled from his carpentry business. I have about 80 gallons of sap and apparently I can't use any of it. Right? Question: do I have time to find new buckets? If we use the sap in the buckets will my friends and family get sick? I can't even imagine what was in the big 100 gallon drum that I've been emptying the sap into. Please give advice. Thanks so much.

[TF Maple]

Check the bakeries and grocery stores with bakeries for frosting and filling buckets to replace what you have. Most are available for free or $1:00 a piece. If the buckets you used were good and clean, I would use what sap you have but replace them as soon as you can.

[fishman]

If you have a university, prison or some other place where they serve lots of meals, they frequently have lots of them also. My son gets me 3 and 4 gallon buckets and says the university has several hundred just in the one lunch hall all for the taking.

[C.Wilcox]

I have about 80 gallons of sap and apparently I can't use any of it. Right?

Can you elaborate a bit more on what was in the buckets? Do they have labels with skull and crossbones illustrations on them or were they drywall compound? Were they clean when you got them?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dry wall buckets wont hurt a thing. Paint NO. I had 2 of the square bakery buckets split on the bottom so dont RE PURPOSE THEM...they are crap

[jmp]

Like TF Maple I have been able to pick up more than I need from the local grocery store bakery. Food grade. Good wash and they work perfect. I don't want anything touching our syrup other than food grade plastic and stainless.

[500592]

Dry wall buckets wont hurt a thing. Paint NO. I had 2 of the square bakery buckets split on the bottom so dont RE PURPOSE THEM...they are crap

Are you sure dry wall buckets are okay cause I get a lot of them for free

[buck3m]

According to Wikipedia: "The compound is a complex combination of water, limestone, expanded perlite, ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer and attapulgite." I doubt that all those ingredients would be considered safe for coming in contact with sap.

If I don't know what's in the containers and or I don't know if the materials are safe to come in contact with foods, I don't want to use them. It would be painful to throw out all that sap, but it would be even worse to make someone sick now or in the future because I didn't. Proper used buckets are easy to get and relatively inexpensive or free.

[jmp]

Just went to the store to get milk and bread etc. and swung by the bakery. They had three 5 gallon pails used for frosting just sitting there. Got them for free. Check around and I am sure you can pick some up for free. If not, there a numerous suppliers that sell buckets. A brand new food grade pail is only 4-6 bucks. Bottom line, you are making a product that others will eat. Small price to pay to insure you are doing it the right way. Good luck with your pail hunting! :)

[French]

Can you elaborate a bit more on what was in the buckets? Do they have labels with skull and crossbones illustrations on them or were they drywall compound? Were they clean when you got them?

Yes, they were clean. There are not any skull and crossbones. I believe they contained compound.

[French]

According to Wikipedia: "The compound is a complex combination of water, limestone, expanded perlite, ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer and attapulgite." I doubt that all those ingredients would be considered safe for coming in contact with sap.

If I don't know what's in the containers and or I don't know if the materials are safe to come in contact with foods, I don't want to use them. It would be painful to throw out all that sap, but it would be even worse to make someone sick now or in the future because I didn't. Proper used buckets are easy to get and relatively inexpensive or free.

Exactly. I don't want to make anyone sick. I did find some food grade buckets. I was shocked when the guy told me that people use all kinds of containers -- including anti-freeze containers. That's just crazy! All of it does make me wonder though, when did "food grade" containers become the norm? I'm assuming that 20 or 25 years ago, people used what was handy and weren't worried about BPA etc. Does anyone have the history on this?

[happy thoughts]

All of it does make me wonder though, when did "food grade" containers become the norm? I'm assuming that 20 or 25 years ago, people used what was handy and weren't worried about BPA etc. Does anyone have the history on this?

Probably when the hazards of lead in galvanized buckets became recognized.

And it's not BPA that's the worrisome factor in plastics. To the best of my limited knowledge that's only a problem in plastics with a #7 recycling number. It's the toxic contaminants that may have been stored in previously used plastic of any kind, especially in these days of increased recycling. The FDA has some guidelines for recyclables if you care to wade through some of the technical jargon. Basically they're looking at contamination by pesticides, common household solvents, cleaners and motor oil.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodIngredientsandPackaging/ucm120762.htm

In general, food grade plastic is made from virgin plastic materials that have never come in contact with non food contaminants. Many non food products are sold in what started out as food grade plastic but once they are contaminated with a noon food substance then they are no longer considered food grade.

This can get really confusing and it's easy to understand why some people have trouble recognizing the problem if all they're looking at is a recycling number. It's much more than just that. I'll add that you're smart in rejecting any plastic container that you have even the slightest doubt about.

[French]

Probably when the hazards of lead in galvanized buckets became recognized.

And it's not BPA that's the worrisome factor in plastics. To the best of my limited knowledge that's only a problem in plastics with a #7 recycling number. It's the toxic contaminants that may have been stored in previously used plastic of any kind, especially in these days of increased recycling. The FDA has some guidelines for recyclables if you care to wade through some of the technical jargon. Basically they're looking at contamination by pesticides, common household solvents, cleaners and motor oil.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodIngredientsandPackaging/ucm120762.htm

In general, food grade plastic is made from virgin plastic materials that have never come in contact with non food contaminants. Many non food products are sold in what started out as food grade plastic but once they are contaminated with a noon food substance then they are no longer considered food grade.

This can get really confusing and it's easy to understand why some people have trouble recognizing the problem if all they're looking at is a recycling number. It's much more than just that. I'll add that you're smart in rejecting any plastic container that you have even the slightest doubt about.

Thanks for the info. It's actually pretty scary. It makes me think that you really don't know what you're getting...I mean if you stop at a farm stand on the roadside, you really have no way of knowing what storage was used. Of if a well-meaning friend (or neighbor) didn't know to be concerned.