IBC Totes last contained iodine...

[blaircountysugarin85]

I am having a hard time finding food grade IBC totes for sap storage and came across a guy that has ones that are clean and rinsed out but contained iodine. Anyone know if that is ok for sap storage??

[lpakiz]

Blair, I would srteer clear of Iodine. I used it for 2 years in rinse water for my equipment and tanks. Some batches had an "off" taste that I couldn't at first identify. When I quit using iodine in the rinse, the taste went away. I didn't use very much but it apparently comes through.

[mapleack]

These totes being advertised for sale every where drives me nuts. I see amish using totes for sap that had god knows what in them, not food grade. I tell people that if you wouldn't be willing to drink a glass full of what ever was in a container originally then don't put sap in it! I know tanks hit the budget hard, but please don't compromise quality or safety in the name of the savings.

[Maplewalnut]

Would not use anything that had iodine in them....

[DanE.]

I got my totes from a guy who works for a local brewery. He has to take them by the lot, I forget how many were in a lot. these totes had fruit flavoring in them for their fruity beers. they cleaned up real nice with very little effort. I would also stay away from any that had and oil base liquid in them. they are very hard to get cleaned. I got some 55 gal drums that had vinegar base liquid in them and they clean up real easy also. and as mapleack said if you won't drink it --- leave it.

[maple flats]

I use some totes too. They had Vanilla extract(this is a flavor in maple anyway), or Canola oil (used as defoamer in organic operations) or apple juice. They cleaned up real well. Be very careful not to use any that could taint the sap.

[red maples]

I bought 4 barrels severaal years ago and use 3 of them. they had sushi seasoning in them basically sugar syrup with a hint of rice vinegar. verry easy to clean. I used one the first year but found the trick was to wash tem out and just leave them open outside and let nature handle the rest. worked good. but yeah stay away from anything you would eat or drink. not thaat I would eat sushi seasoning but it doesn't take bad.

[happy thoughts]

I would not use them. I doubt what was in your barrels was ever meant to be eaten since Iodine is not generally thought of as food. I would consider them non food grade. Plastic is absorbent and you can never be sure if you got it all out.

Although humans need traces of iodine in their diet, excess intake can cause problems, too. Some people are also highly allergic to it and can go into anaphylactic shock. All the more reason not to use them if you sell to the public.

[cadocter]

I also found a guy that sells these types of tanks. He said the iodine was an FDA approved food processing equipment cleaner. He also said that he would lick the inside to prove that it was food grade. Any thoughts on these? I figured if it was FDA approved then what the heck?

[mapleack]

FDA approved product to clean stainless steel, not FDA approved tank to hold food. Just because the guy will lick them doesn't mean it's safe to put sap in it. Like I said earlier, if you won't drink a glass of what was in it before, don't store sap in it.

[cadocter]

I guess I didn't think of it that way. Makes sense. I might have to give him a call back and ask for a different one. Thanks for your help

[wiam]

There are lots of things that are safe to eat that will give syrup an off flavor. Sugaring is hard work to make substandard grade syrup.