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Thread: Taps with anti-microbial materials?

  1. #11
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    Just to be clear maple dabler, the paraformaldehyde was inserted into the tapholes as a pill/pellet and not incorporated into the spout to the best of my knowledge. I doubt the pills would have worked with any type of vac, but they did on gravity.
    Last edited by Ed R; 04-06-2020 at 07:35 AM.

  2. #12
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    You wouldn't ingest enough silver from this and as stated it is insoluble. There is only one negative health effects from too much silver it's called argyria and turns you a blue hue that's it- no major health issues. I've Ingested colloidal silver a couple drops a day will not harm you. Most people get exposed to too much when they try to manufacture their own colloidal silver incorrectly.


    With syrup I am not sure why people are so crazy about consumption. the majority of the population doesn't even consume syrup and those that do aren't drinking cups of it on a regular basis. Silver should not even be a concern.
    It just gives " those people" something more to cry about.

    Lead is not good but that's gone wild...they should be worried about all the galvanized pipes our schools are plumbed with and the garbage storage tanks lined with pcbs the municipality uses EVERY DAY to supply them!!
    18x30 sugarshack
    5100 taps high vac
    3x10 inferno with steampan
    7'' wes fab filter press
    10'' cdl air filter press
    D&G 3 post reverse osmosis w/recirculation

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maple dabbler View Post
    ...In any case, I'd expect the silver to be nontoxic to humans. I'd be more concerned if the tap had an organic biocide coating, like that paraformaldehyde.
    Note that I did not say or imply that the silver would reach the level where it would be toxic to humans. That is not the bar that has to be cleared in this case. The issue is that maple syrup is supposed to be pure, and that equipment or materials are not supposed to add anything to the sap or syrup. There is a list of approved materials for maple equipment construction, which does NOT include silver. We know that silver ions are released into sap as part of the antimicrobial process. Does that end up in syrup (not permitted according to the regulations)? Sugar sand (that would be fine)? There are actually a fairly limited number of things that can be "added" to syrup legally...defoamer, filter aid (DE), salt (?), etc. Silver is not on those lists either.

    And yes...while paraformaldehyde was definitely NOT a good thing in syrup, it actually DID have an EPA permit for use, so while it was probably not great health-wise from a toxicity viewpoint, it was legal (until 1990 I think) to have formaldehyde residues in syrup. Weird I know...but it was legal. It is the EPA that has jurisdiction on these things (maple producers are protecting an object...the tubing system...not the syrup), not the USDA or FDA.
    Last edited by DrTimPerkins; 04-06-2020 at 08:59 AM.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins View Post
    And yes...while paraformaldehyde was definitely NOT a good thing in syrup, it actually DID have an EPA permit for use, so while it was probably not great health-wise from a toxicity viewpoint, it was legal (until 1990 I think) to have formaldehyde residues in syrup. Weird I know...but it was legal. It is the EPA that has jurisdiction on these things (maple producers are protecting an object...the tubing system...not the syrup), not the USDA or FDA.
    Nice to see that the maple industry isn't immune to arcane rules and government bureaucracy dating back to the 50s, just like every other industry.

    Do these things actually get tested for in any "pure maple syrup" that makes it to grocery store shelves?

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maple dabbler View Post
    Do these things actually get tested for in any "pure maple syrup" that makes it to grocery store shelves?
    In general that is not the way things work in the food industry. Testing is only done for specific foods and for specific contaminants if problems occur, or if there are known issues (ie, lead in maple, mercury in fish, etc.). There is some testing for "common" contaminants of concern periodically, but not as a general thing. The cost to test everything for every possible contaminant would be astronomical (even in governmental terms).
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

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