Notice

[802maple]

To: Vermont Maple Producers

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has been made aware of a potential problem with products being offered for sale in the maple industry.

The Agency has several concerns with isopropyl alcohol being sold for use in tubing systems. This product is not registered for use in Vermont or in the U.S. as a disinfectant or sanitizer. In addition, the product is listed on the MSDS sheet as reactive with other chemicals used in the maple industry, as well as the potential to soften some plastics, potentially creating a plasticizer that could affect human health.

The Agency is following up on this product, and would caution producers in the use of any isopropyl alcohol product unless assured that the product you are using is legally registered and safe for the intended use.

Sincerely,

Henry J. Marckres

Chief

Consumer Protection

henry.marckres@state.vt.us

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

are you refering to the taps that have those cap things you put over the end with some alcohol pad in it to kill bacteria in the off season?

[802maple]

I am not referring to anything in particular, just everything that has been and being used to put in the tap hole to sanitize that is isopropyl alcohol based. This is a notice that came to Vt sugarmakers yesterday from the Vt. department of agriculture

[vtmapleman]

Just another reason that I only use water/air to clean my lines.

[DrTimPerkins]

are you refering to the taps that have those cap things you put over the end with some alcohol pad in it to kill bacteria in the off season?

Those caps are supposed to be used in conjunction with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to sanitize maple spouts and tubing. The notice says the Vermont Agency of Agriculture "....would caution producers in the use of any isopropyl alcohol product unless assured that the product you are using is legally registered and safe for the intended use." Interpret that as you may, but the VT regulations say that those producing and supplying equipment and materials used in maple must be able to demonstrate that the materials are "suitable for the intended use." This communication apparently suggests that IPA doesn't meet that standard (probably because IPA is not food-grade) and/or is not registered as a pesticide for that use with the EPA (sanitizers/pesticides, unless "generally recognized as safe" must be registered with the EPA). IPA will definitely soften/interact with some types of plastics (like PVC used in schedule 40 pipe, fittings, and releasers or in "milk" hose). Like a lot of tubing cleaners, the research showing IPAs effectiveness is mixed.

[802maple]

I think this also covers the practice of spraying it in the tap hole that some sugarmakers are doing to sanitize the hole

[CBOYER]

I think this also covers the practice of spraying it in the tap hole that some sugarmakers are doing to sanitize the hole

When a producer spray alcool in, or on the bark, or on the tap it must be ethylic alcool, or denatured ethylic alcool in Canada. Isopropyl alcool is only used for cleaning after the season,and well rinse before production.

[DrTimPerkins]

... well rinse before production.

How is the rinsing accomplished?

[CBOYER]

From the Centre acer study (in french):
http://www.centreacer.qc.ca/Dev/Publications/Default.asp?TypeID=2#1

As it is volatile, no residue ISO alcohol 70% is likely to be found in the maple syrup after the passage of the sap in the evaporator. It is recommended, however, to flush the first sap run since this new procedure does not use sufficient volumes to allow sanitizer rinse thoroughly to remove all residues and other impurities biofilm system

[802maple]

When a producer spray alcool in, or on the bark, or on the tap it must be ethylic alcool, or denatured ethylic alcool in Canada. Isopropyl alcool is only used for cleaning after the season,and well rinse before production.

Yes, but i have heard of sugarmakers trying isopropyl alcohol as well.

[DrTimPerkins]

It is recommended, however, to flush the first sap run

Yes, I've read that. I frequently hear this suggested (letting the first sap run on the ground). In practice, I don't think I've ever seen it happen.

[DrTimPerkins]

Yes, but i have heard of sugarmakers trying isopropyl alcohol as well.

As have I. However at least for now, it appears that the use of IPA is not allowed in Vermont (and technically probably no where in the U.S., since it is not registered as a pesticide for use in maple operations).

[CBOYER]

802maple..

They are doing wrong. Isopropyl had received approbation for cleaning maple sap lines from Canadian food inspection agency, to replace sodium Hypochlorites (chlorox) used, and this only off season.

I think the real problem is the misunderstanding for the different types of Alcohol. Food grade alcool is ethylic alcohol (like Vodka).

[CBOYER]

Yes, I've read that. I frequently hear this suggested (letting the first sap run on the ground). In practice, I don't think I've ever seen it happen.

I could assure you that a lot of maple producers in Qc, that i chat with on Lessucriers.com, (french maple forum), flush their first sap runs. They dont want to send anything wrong in their RO systems...:rolleyes:

[802maple]

802maple..

They are doing wrong. Isopropyl had received approbation for cleaning maple sap lines from Canadian food inspection agency, to replace sodium Hypochlorites (chlorox) used, and this only off season.

I think the real problem is the misunderstanding for the different types of Alcohol. Food grade alcool is ethylic alcohol (like Vodka).


I understand this perfectly, but there are some sugarmakers doing it anyway, I would rather drink the Vodka.

As Dr. Tim states, not much sap makes it to the ground, there is alot of greed in this industry.

[CBOYER]

I understand this perfectly, but there are some sugarmakers doing it anyway, I would rather drink the Vodka.

As Dr. Tim states, not much sap makes it to the ground, there is alot of greed in this industry.

if you know somes, call inspectors... it is legal to used ethylic alcohol in Qc, and Canada, and it is documented by Centre Acer. a lot of producers follow seminars from their Coopérative acéricole régionale, or Club d’encadrement technique acéricole, to get the knowhow. and they are inspected.
One of my neighbor, (19000 taps) had been checked 2 weeks ago, inspector even take sample of wood from random taps, to be laboratory analysed.

I'm sorry, but allegations of Dr Tim are not founded...could he make proof of thems??? it is easy to talk from peoples that you dont know practice.

[GeneralStark]

I think this also covers the practice of spraying it in the tap hole that some sugarmakers are doing to sanitize the hole

Why would anyone do this? Do people actually think this will prevent bacterial contamination of the taphole?

[DrTimPerkins]

I'm sorry, but allegations of Dr Tim are not founded...could he make proof of thems???

I made no allegations. I simply made the statement...."I don't think I've ever seen it happen" in reference to maple producers letting sap run on the ground (on purpose). It is impossible for me to prove something that I've never seen. :confused:

The problem with the ethyl alcohol (from a few years ago) that was being used in tapholes some years ago was the denaturing agents used (off the top of my head, I think they used ethyl acetate and benzene). Those are not food-grade substances.

All the recent Centre Acer work I am aware of has been on isopropyl alcohol used as a tubing cleaner. Apparently IPA has been approved for that use in Canada. It is not approved for that use in the U.S. (at least at this point). I think the communication from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture was simply trying to make that point clear. Technically, any maple syrup made with tubing cleaned with IPA (or any other non-approved pesticide) might be considered adulterated (contaminated).

[802maple]

I first of all don't condone this practice, make no mistake, secondly I was agreeing with Dr.Tim's statement as not many dump the first sap, whether it has chemicals or not. Just look how many think I am nuts for rinsing the membranes in a RO with first run sap instead of using water which 90 % of will destroy a membrane prematurely and that will answer that question. I don't think a membrane should be rinsed with a chemical from washing, but not many wash anymore.

[Michael Greer]

The guy who taught me to make maple syrup thirty years ago used quite a lot of alcohol...I believe Mohawk Ginger Brandy was his favorite. Some nights it took a half pint to get a gallon of syrup...

[gmcooper]

I have to say I didn't realize I was apparently one of a few that let the first sap flow onto the ground. 25 plus years ago when i was getting started an old long time producer showed me his lines running on the ground after tapping. He said as a long slimy string of crap came out of the main line "you don't really want to eat syrup made from that do you?". Convinced me then and now that I can afford to dump that first few days sap to get the crud out.

[can'twaitforabigrun]

Here is the write up for the Stericap from the Canadian catalogue, it's a product that Lapierre developed for spout sanitation during the off-season which contains isopropyl alcohol.
STERICAP
Stericap, is a reusable 5 ml. isopropyl alcohol tight sealed
container.
Stericap sanitizes spouts and tubing. It can be reused every
year.
Recent studies show that the use of 70% isopropyl alcohol
is a good way to reduce the contamination level of spouts,
fittings and tubing.
Container and hook
TU298-146005L7B Bleu 22.00$/1000
TU298-146005L6B green 22.00$/1000
Here is a link to a page describing their new spouts and the stericap: http://www.sugaringequipment.elapierre.com/down/274.pdf

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

"Technically, any maple syrup made with tubing cleaned with IPA (or any other non-approved pesticide) might be considered adulterated (contaminated).

Dr Tim, if this is true, how come Canadian Syrup is sold in the US if they are using a substance not approved for US production? Does this fall under the arm of the USDA?

I am sure we buy products produced in countries with lower production standards everyday. But I wouldn't have thought we would allow this with a food product. I know this is off topic, but how can the entire industry come together on grading when we have such different production standards. I don't see the US lowering our standards, nor CA raising theirs.

[not_for_sale]

Lowering or raising is really a matter of where you are. For a European like me it's really not a higher standard that from honey to flour everything is GMO. I think in agriculture the US has a lobby system that unilaterally ensures that production standards are the lowest in the developed world, starting with GMO and ending with Aflatoxin limits in grains and nuts. Everything is based on economical production.

[DrTimPerkins]

...if this is true, how come Canadian Syrup is sold in the US if they are using a substance not approved for US production? Does this fall under the arm of the USDA?

Good question.

[DrTimPerkins]

Here is the write up for the Stericap from the Canadian catalogue, it's a product that Lapierre developed for spout sanitation during the off-season which contains isopropyl alcohol. STERICAP Stericap, is a reusable 5 ml. isopropyl alcohol tight sealed container. Stericap sanitizes spouts and tubing.

A couple of personal opinion comments about this:

1. The ad (at the link) and the name of the product suggests that this cap/spout is "sterilized" by the alcohol. Not the case. The term "sterile" is fairly well regulated. It means the complete absence of microbes. I don't think any research shows that the use of this product will truly "sterile" the system.

2. The ad also says "sanitizes." This also has a fairly specific meaning....especially to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. When you use this term in conjunction with some product (cleaner, sanitizer) to reduce microbial contamination, it means that this product must be registered with the EPA as a pesticide for a particular use (unless it is something that is either exempted as "generally recognizeable as safe", or is regulated by the USDA as use IN a food product (not applicable in this case). That (registration of isopropyl alcohol as a pesticide) hasn't happened to my knowledge.

3. The product (and others like it) were developed over this past off-season. What that means is that it has never been tested in the field, but rather is based upon some concept that may or may not work out. Anyone buying it is a guinea pig. Unfortunately this is true of a number of products in the maple industry, so I don't mean to pick on Lapierre entirely....several of the manufacturers do the exact same thing. In this particular case however, even if there are some being used this year, the actual results won't be known until after the 2014 season (since it is new this year, and then "sanitized" for the 2014 season), at which point there will be one actual season of field testing for efficacy as a sanitizer.

4. The studies showing the effectiveness of alcohol have not yet been successfully replicated by any other research group. In fact, some research studies have shown little or no benefit of isopropyl alcohol. My own work has shown that isopropyl alcohol can significantly reduce the microbial population in tubing (at least in the lab), but it certainly won't eliminate them. Alcohol doesn't penetrate organic matter (biofilms) well, and is not at all effective in killing spores (very common in maple tubing). However ethanol, Clorox (Javex), hydrogen peroxide and even water shows a similar effect. Basically you are just flushing out the majority of the microbes by passing a fluid through the system and washing out the loose microbes. Other studies have shown that ispropyl alcohol (and other cleaners), which all will reduce microbial populations (but not eradicate them), has little or no effect on total sap yield, although some were done last year, which admittedly was an oddball season. More studies are planned, some are currently underway.

5. There is ONE study that shows that isopropyl alcohol vapor will reduce microbial levels in tubing systems. In general however, alcohols are not recognized as what are referred to as "gas phase sanitizers", which is how it is being suggested the maple industry use it with these new products. Furthermore, that ONE study only looked at ONE type of microorganism, which turns out to be fairly sensitive to alcohol. Unfortunately there are at least a couple of dozen very common types of microbes in maple tubing, and probably more like 100 different types altogether. So it seems a little premature to me to base an entire product line and recommendation to use alcohol on that particular study, particularly when there has been no field testing of the system.....NONE, ZERO, ZIPPO!

6. Aliphatic alcohols (isopropyl alcohol and ethanol) damage some types of plastics (milk hose, PVC), rubber, aluminum, and some types of coatings (which is why your chainsaw, lawnmower, etc. doesn't like the new blended gasoline). We use PVC in many places in tubing systems as connectors, piping, releasers, etc. We need to know better what substances are being released when alcohol reacts with these things and what is the fate of those released substances in syrup. Alcohol is also highly flammable, so great care needs to be taken in the transport, handling and use of the material.

So overall, while alcohols (isopropyl or ethanol) may have a place in the maple industry at some point, I feel there needs to be considerable more work done to A) determine that it is effective in sanitizing tubing sytems and result in higher yields than other alternatives, and B) make sure it is safe for consumers and producers.

[Flatlander]

Dr. Tim

Are you saying I would be wasting money by buying food grade hydrogen peroxide and using that to clean my lines over just plain water?

Thank you for your comments. Always appreciate them.

[DrTimPerkins]

Are you saying I would be wasting money by buying food grade hydrogen peroxide and using that to clean my lines over just plain water?

As yet, there is insufficient evidence demonstrating that ANY tubing cleaner/sanitizer alone is clearly effective from the standpoint of reducing microbial populations in tubing to the point where it helps sanitize the system enough to maintain high sap yields. We are doing some research on it this spring, and have a fairly sizeable 3-yr project planned in collaboration with Steve Childs (Cornell University Maple Program). Interestingly, that project has been approved for funding by NESARE (was ranked the #2 project throughout the NE region), however Congress has yet to pass a budget, so the money and the start of the project are being held up until that happens (if it ever does). The interesting thing is that this work has the potential for a positive outcome either way. Either we A) identify which sanitizer is effective in cleaning tubing (and how effective it is at producing high sap yields, as well as how economical it is), or B) we find that none of the cleaning methods are any good so you can stop wasting your time trying to clean. We are going to look at several cleaning methods, compared to replacement strategies (new spouts, new drops), and a combination of those strategies to determine which approach has the best outcome and how the economics work out. Unfortunately, we won't have preliminary (first year results) until after the 2014 season (if the funding comes through early enough and we are able to start working on it this summer) and we won't have verification/final results until after the 2015 season....so stay tuned. Additionally....you might be interested in knowing that the proposal utilized some of the tubing cleaning surveys we did on this (and another) maple chat sites....so thank you to all those that participated in that. The information you provided was useful in helping us to write a successful (we think) proposal.

[Flatlander]

Thanks for your response Dr. Tim. Think maybe I'll go for water again this year and keep tabs on your study.