Food Safe Gutter

Gutter oil or illicit cooking oil that has been recycled from waste oil collected from restaurant fryers drains grease traps and slaughterhouse waste from table to table has emerged as a serious food safety issue in china and exposed the shortcomings of china s food safety assurance systems.

Food safe gutter.

We always recommend checking with the manufacturer about the food safe status. You can safely grow plants in a variety of containers as long. Zinc is not considered a food safe material and it is recommended to avoid contact between food and galvanized surfaces because acidic foods can dissolve zinc. Pvc plastic leaches toxic chemicals.

You also need to consider that whilst metals do leach if you preserve the gutters with some form of chemical paint or other coating this too may contribute to the problem of food. Safe containers for organic gardening. Food safety incidents in 2014 gutter oil scandal. Even xinhua the government s news agency called gutter oil the most nerve jittery problem of late concerning food safety and one that showed a really nasty reality of chinese food.

Based on all the research papers i ve read i believe it s clear pvc is a toxic material that has no place in an organic garden or anywhere. Gutter oil is a term used in china to describe illicit cooking oil that has already been used and is then processed by cleaning and filtering to be resold as a cheaper alternative to normal cooking oil. Grow shallow root plants such as radish spinach and strawberries. Gutter oil or illicit cooking oil that has been recycled from waste oil collected from restaurant fryers drains grease traps and slaughterhouse waste from table to table has emerged as a serious food safety issue in china and exposed the shortcomings of china s food safety assurance systems.

All plastics can leach toxic substances to some degree given the right conditions there are however safer plastics than others. My best suggestion is to use food grade or food safe materials for all surfaces that come in contact with the plants and the hydroponic solution. The types of rain gutter most often used for gutter gardening are made of vinyl or aluminum. The sources of this oil are restaurant fryers sewers and leftover or used oil that is sold.

But is it safe to use around food plants. Non food grade plastics can be used for drains or other non contact surfaces.