Food storage containers

This info came for the Waltonfeed site Plastic Buckets

Information Update: If your buckets have the triangle with the 2 in it and the buckets are white or natural, they should be food grade. The buckets used by Walton Feed are new, food grade buckets. 12 Mar 2002

There is a lot of misinformation out there about plastic buckets. Most of the controversy rages over whether a bucket is food grade or not. Most plastic containers, usually on the bottom, will have a number inside a small triangle. All the buckets I have ever seen have a #2. This number doesn't mean that it's food grade as many people suppose. But rather it tells what kind of plastic the bucket is made of. The #2 means it is made from HDPE plastic. Most of these buckets are food grade but there are times when they are not.
Sometimes the bucket has a dye added to the plastic that is not food grade This alone will prevent the FDA from approving it as food grade. And sometimes the bucket manufacturer uses recycled HDPE. These buckets also are not food grade. And lastly, when something is put in the bucket that is a nonfood type product such as paint, chemicals, and such things, this also makes them so they are no longer food grade. HDPE plastic is slightly porous and will absorb these chemicals which will gradually leach back into any food you place in the bucket later.
So, how do you find buckets that are safe for you to use for the foods you want to pack yourself? If you are going to buy them new, ask the company who is selling them. If you get used buckets, only use buckets you know have already been used to store food and haven't been used for anything else. You can find these at bakeries, ice cream manufacturers and parlors, large restaurants or kitchens, or food processing plants.
Lots of times the people who get these buckets, hack up the lids and make them unusable. If this is the case, you can get lids from us for a small fee if you can't locate used ones. You want to get lids that will seal air tight. This is especially important if you are not planning on using mylar bags. If the lid won't make an airtight seal, you can go to a lot of trouble removing the oxygen from your goods just to have the air circulate back in through the faulty lid.
Sealing Lids. I used to pound them down with my hands but I didn't always get the lids all the way down doing it this way, not to mention what it was doing to the palms of my hands. Using a 2X4 and a hammer makes this job a snap. Lay the 2X4 across the top of the lid. Give the 2X4 a firm blow with the hammer. This part of the lid should pop down. Rotate the 2X4 4 or 5 inches and strike the 2X4 again, pushing this part of the lid down. Continue this operation until you have sealed the lid all the way around the bucket.

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Weeping Willow Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: May 16 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 34	Post Options Post Reply Quote Weeping Willow Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Food storage containers Posted: July 19 2006 at 1:35pm
	Need a little help from those oohhh so wise. I bought 2 hopefully wonderful 8 gallon containers but from what I have read here food safe containers will have HDPE on the container these do not, in the triangle is the # 30 but no HDPE under it. We were told that vitamins were shipped in them. They are great because they still have a lockable metal round seal to help keep stuff air tight.

July Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: May 24 2006 Status: Offline Points: 1660	Post Options Post Reply Quote July Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 19 2006 at 4:38pm
	This info came for the Waltonfeed site Plastic Buckets Information Update: If your buckets have the triangle with the 2 in it and the buckets are white or natural, they should be food grade. The buckets used by Walton Feed are new, food grade buckets. 12 Mar 2002 There is a lot of misinformation out there about plastic buckets. Most of the controversy rages over whether a bucket is food grade or not. Most plastic containers, usually on the bottom, will have a number inside a small triangle. All the buckets I have ever seen have a #2. This number doesn't mean that it's food grade as many people suppose. But rather it tells what kind of plastic the bucket is made of. The #2 means it is made from HDPE plastic. Most of these buckets are food grade but there are times when they are not. Sometimes the bucket has a dye added to the plastic that is not food grade This alone will prevent the FDA from approving it as food grade. And sometimes the bucket manufacturer uses recycled HDPE. These buckets also are not food grade. And lastly, when something is put in the bucket that is a nonfood type product such as paint, chemicals, and such things, this also makes them so they are no longer food grade. HDPE plastic is slightly porous and will absorb these chemicals which will gradually leach back into any food you place in the bucket later. So, how do you find buckets that are safe for you to use for the foods you want to pack yourself? If you are going to buy them new, ask the company who is selling them. If you get used buckets, only use buckets you know have already been used to store food and haven't been used for anything else. You can find these at bakeries, ice cream manufacturers and parlors, large restaurants or kitchens, or food processing plants. Lots of times the people who get these buckets, hack up the lids and make them unusable. If this is the case, you can get lids from us for a small fee if you can't locate used ones. You want to get lids that will seal air tight. This is especially important if you are not planning on using mylar bags. If the lid won't make an airtight seal, you can go to a lot of trouble removing the oxygen from your goods just to have the air circulate back in through the faulty lid. Sealing Lids. I used to pound them down with my hands but I didn't always get the lids all the way down doing it this way, not to mention what it was doing to the palms of my hands. Using a 2X4 and a hammer makes this job a snap. Lay the 2X4 across the top of the lid. Give the 2X4 a firm blow with the hammer. This part of the lid should pop down. Rotate the 2X4 4 or 5 inches and strike the 2X4 again, pushing this part of the lid down. Continue this operation until you have sealed the lid all the way around the bucket. \|\| Walton's Home Page \|\| Walton Self Reliance Home \|\|

Iron Mommy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List V.I.P. Member Joined: June 02 2006 Status: Offline Points: 69	Post Options Post Reply Quote Iron Mommy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 20 2006 at 10:25am
	CHEAP/FREE FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS I am too cheap to buy these containers, so have been improvising. Basically anything you buy food in, is food-safe--a good thing to know! Makes it easy to know what to reuse. I've been saving and reusing peanut butter jars spaghetti sauce jars pickle jars juice bottles powdered drink mix containers etc. Think about things your family eats a lot of now--not necessarily things yu will stockpile. We eat a LOT of olives and buy them in gallon-size glass jars, which are great for reusing. If there's some food that your family eats in mass quantities, consider buying it in giant containers, eating it up, and then using the jars for bulk storage. I use the gallon jars for flour, dried beans, etc. Smaller ones for spices, dried veggies, etc. You can also sometimes get food-safe buckets/jars from delis, restaurants, bakeries, etc. just by asking, because they usually just throw them out . Good luck!