# 5gl Buckets - Food Grade?



## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

You can get the food grade pails from your local doughnut shops or bakeries. Much cheaper as well. Excellent for selling "raw" honey to local food coops. OMTCW


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## hilreal (Aug 16, 2005)

Also leave your name at the local grocery deli departments.


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## MikeJ (Jan 1, 2009)

Only place out here seems to be hardware stores for any 5 gl buckets.

I called around to the only real food services out here. No one has 5 gallong buckets. I still have to check the market's deli dept. but I doubt it.

Is there a way to identify plastics? I know they usually have a number stamped on the bottom, inside an arrowed triangle - will this tell me something? Like one bucket has 2 HDPE in the triangle. Another plastice has 5.

Mike


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I have about 300 plus empty 5 gallon buckets. Send me your address and I'll mail you one or two for the hardware store price plus shipping and handling. Handling is finding the right box and packaging the item. Case you wondered.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

http://www.tastybrew.com/forum/thread/52137
http://www.ecobags.com/Resources/Plastic-Information


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Thanks Barry. I had a potential customer there and then you come along w/ your internet sites?


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## Deer Slayer (Dec 14, 2009)

MikeJ said:


> Like one bucket has 2 HDPE in the triangle. Another plastice has 5.
> 
> Mike


Number 2 HDPE is good. Polyethelyene (PE) is OK


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## MikeJ (Jan 1, 2009)

Wow. Thanks - great info and will be useful in the futue as well.

sqkcrk - Sorry. If I had just logged in a bit sooner  Really though thanks for the offer. If I still can't find some with the right codes I'll probably PM you.

(the HDPE) bucket I mentioned won't do since it has been being used for gardening purposes :doh.

Again - thanks all
Mike


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

In the mean time I will check the bottom of some of the buckets that I bought from a supplier and have used for a number of years. I'll go into the kitchen and look right now and get back to you.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Yup, they all have HDPE 2 on the bottom. I would go ahead and buy a new one from the hardware store. It'll last you a long time.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

See http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?245261

In a nutshell, the triangle code is a RECYCLING code. It doesn't tell you a thing about whether the plastic item is food grade or not. Bakeries and deli's get their frosting and fillings in FOOD GRADE buckets -- ask there.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

Yep. The bucket manufacturers have specific guidelines for food grade buckets. After doing about 100,000 non food grade they stop the assembly line and tell everyone to start making food grade buckets. So everything after that is food grade until they decide to switch again. Very complicated process; you have to know exactly where the non food grade buckets end and the food grade buckets start. This one goes to Lowe's, this one goes to Ace Hardware, this one goes to Little Debbie snack foods, this one to Crisco. Uh-oh, we gave a non food grade to Betty Crocker, STOP the line!


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## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

Just went out and checked a few of my buckets;
They were obtained from our local donut shop, icings made by Dawn Food Co.
Some are; 
#2 HDPE
#5 PP { polypropylene, what some baby bottles are made from } 

Course what would Dawn Food Co. Know ? 

PCM


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## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

fish_stix said:


> Yep. Very complicated process; you have to know exactly where the non food grade buckets end and the food grade buckets start.


Your really confused, that's the way its done for millitary items !

PCM


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## Desert Viking Ranch (Mar 1, 2011)

This thread just confirms my disgust. I recently ordered a honey filtering/straining setup from thewarrestore.com and imagine my surprise when the 5 gallon pails I received were green Menards pails...tsk tsk :no:

Needless to say $60 with free shipping WAS too good to be true. I should have just built my own like I originally planned; would have cost much less and the quality would have been better. I had several other issues with the kit but it doesnt matter anymore, I paid my money and got what I got. Lesson learned.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

You all may very well be 100% right, having worked in plastics manufacturing for some years. If it's for home use, then by all means store your honey in Lowes buckets or whatever suits you. If a person is wants to sell honey to consumers, however, then the beekeeper has a responsibility to the consumer to ~know~ the honey is safe.

Just because buckets from Lowes are white and look clean doesn't make them food grade -- only chemical tests can verify that. Even if the virgin resin for the Lowes bucket run is the same as the resin for the frosting bucket run, the Lowes run might also have in-house recycled resin, plasticizers, fillers, or traces of dye from a previous production run that are not allowed for food grade products.

On a related note, I have read on Beesource that some beekeepers will not fill jars their customers bring, again to avoid the liability issue of not knowing what might have been stored in that jar in the past.


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## geebob (Apr 4, 2011)

*Ouch!*

Well thanks for passing the info on! I hope you've earned some good karma for it. I guess I'll go over and save some big money at Menards.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

I got several from Texas Roadhouse. Just don't take ones pickles were in.


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## LITTLE JOHN (May 16, 2010)

Deer Slayer is correct, the PE is for polyethylene, and the HD means High Density. So you have a High Density polyethylene bucket.
little john


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## honeydreams (Aug 10, 2009)

I bought two five gal buckets from a bee supply store on line they charged a arm and leg for them. got them and they were the same I could buy from my local ACE hardware store for 2/3 the cost.


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## John1961 (May 27, 2011)

I get all of my buckets from the local Sam's Club bakery. They are food grade, previously contained cake icing and come with O-ring lids. The best part of all is that they are free for the taking.
The next best thing is that they make your car smell like doughnuts on the way home!


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## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

HDPE 2 is a food grade bucket!!!!


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## geebob (Apr 4, 2011)

John1961 said:


> I get all of my buckets from the local Sam's Club bakery. They are food grade, previously contained cake icing and come with O-ring lids. The best part of all is that they are free for the taking.
> The next best thing is that they make your car smell like doughnuts on the way home!


John,

Thanks much for the tip. The people working there were great and were really interested in beekeeping. My local Sams goes through three buckets A DAY!!

Regards,
Jeff

PS. and yes, I did try a sample before I cleaned them out... not as good as honey, but...


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## ncsteeler (Apr 15, 2009)

#1: PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate): easily recycled, not found to leach. Used in water, juice and soft drink bottles. We recycled this type of plastic and make it into other products; bags, packaging, and more. Call us at 800-720-2247 about what we can create with this material. 

#2: HDPE (high-density polyethylene): easily recycled, *not found to leach*. Used in milk jugs, plastic shopping bags, detergent and shampoo bottles. 

#3: PVC or Vinyl (polyvinyl chloride): not recyclable; soft PVC can leach toxic phthalates. Used in some cling wraps, children's toys, fashion accessories, rain gear, building materials, detergent and spray bottles.

#4: LDPE (low-density polyethylene): recyclable at recycling centers; not found to leach. Used in most plastic shopping bags, cling wraps, some baby bottles and reusable drink & food containers.

#5: PP (polypropylene): Recyclable in some curbside programs, but in most cases this can not be recycled in the United States. This material is not found to leach. Used in the Green Bag™ Reusable Shopping tote and among other things; baby bottles, most yogurt and deli takeout containers, Tupperware- and Rubbermaid-type reusable food and drink containers. This material is being recycled in Australia where the bag was first in use.

#6: PS (polystyrene): recyclable in some curbside programs, can leach styrene, a neurotoxin. Used in rigid foam drink cups, takeout food containers, egg containers, some plastic cutlery and more. 

#7: Mixed: This code applies to all other plastics, notably PC, or Polycarbonate, this is where you might find the infamous, bisphenol-A (BPA). Polycarbonate also don't recycle. But #7 also includes the relatively benign new copolyester Tritan plastic. This is where it gets tricky. A lot of different plastics fall into this category and to understand what has BPA and what does't is difficult.


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## tefer2 (Sep 13, 2009)

Tractor Supply has food grade buckets that are cheap. Most farmers buy them for livestock use.


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## paintingpreacher (Jul 29, 2006)

My wife and two of her friends decided to take cake decorating classes. Now I have more buckets than I know what to do with. Just takes a little work to get the icing out. If I could just get the ladies to clean them up for me...


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## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

paintingpreacher said:


> Just takes a little work to get the icing out.


I don't call that work !!

I call it delicious !!!!!

PCM


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## guyross (Feb 18, 2011)

Fire House Subs sell there pickle buckets and the proceeds go to fire fighters. They could give your honey a vinegar flavor. What is the groups thoughts on taste cross contamination?


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## herbcoop (Jun 2, 2011)

I stopped at my local bakery to see if they had any food grade buckets they were throwing away and the lady told me to come back this Saturday and she’d have 2 for me with lids that I could have, I really at this time only need one but since they are free.
My question is I’m going to use 1 at this time to keep my sugar in it, so tiny ants or anything this else will get into the sugar, the used buckets will have lard or grease in it, how would you remove the lard or grease without contaminating the sugar?


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## rtoney (Apr 20, 2011)

Alot of those buckets have icing in them I get mine from the local store here for free. Washing with hot water should do the trick.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Most hardware stores will have TSP powder which is the unscented base ingredient (trisodium phosphate) for many cleaners. I detest the scented dishsoaps.

I just picked up some clean 11.4 ltr. ice cream buckets with lids. $1 each proceeds to a charity. Wine making outlets commonly have surplus juice containers too.


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## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

I seriously doubt that she will give them to you without having cleaned them but... When I got mine from Dunkin Donuts they would have them all steam cleaned before I picked them up. Took very little time for them to do it since they had the steam cleaner. It also helped to bring a small bottle of honey for the manager - especially for the next pick-up. OMTCW


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## John1961 (May 27, 2011)

herbcoop said:


> My question is I’m going to use 1 at this time to keep my sugar in it, so tiny ants or anything this else will get into the sugar, the used buckets will have lard or grease in it, how would you remove the lard or grease without contaminating the sugar?


I usually rinse all of the icing out with hot water from the tap. As hot as it can be. Once all of the loose icing is out, I scrub the heck out of them with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Wipe them dry, then set them out in the sun for a thorough drying.
Lard is just animal fat, so I believe that the Dawn liquid would do the trick on that as well. Remember... "Dawn takes grease out of the way". 
Try to wipe out as much of the lard as you can with a paper towel first. You might have to scrub and re-scrub them too.
If there is still a residual odor in the bucket after you've cleaned it all you can, try removing the top rack and running it through the dishwasher. 
If that doesn't work to your satisfaction, you might consider a food grade, mylar lining for the bucket. These linings can be found on-line that are made to fit the 5-gallon bucket and they don't cost much. I believe the 20" x 30" linings are made to fit the buckets.
If you don't want to spend the $ on mylar, you probably need to find a different bucket.


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## arthurw (May 10, 2011)

HOT water w/ a little white vinegar in it. Fill the bucket to the brim and let it sit a few moments. Pour it off then wash w/ dish soap and rinse very well with plain water. Dry well.


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## TonyC (Mar 20, 2011)

I got several bucket from a bakery department in a grocery store...FREE! They were 3 gallon rather than 5 but they still hold honey.

I have had success putting the buckets in the dishwasher with no detergent. I may try adding a little vinegar next time.

The really hot water from the dishwasher does as much to sanitize as anything. When I pulled the buckets out while they were still hot it was pretty easy to get the label off.

TonyC


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## LITTLE JOHN (May 16, 2010)

Arthurw was correct, hot water, but add just a little Dawn to the water, swirl around and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Pour off the water and most of the lard will come out with it. Then more Dawn, hot water, and a rag to clean it with. Then rinse out three times and it should be sqeeky clean. I buy plastic food grade liners for my buckets at wal-mart. They are a little large, but just fold around and this also makes it impervious to ants. All wal-mart stores do not carry these bags. There are 25 bags to a box and they are 3.89 per box. Very thick and reusable. Mine has lasted for over two years and still look new. These bags are in the canning section in my local store and are just for lining buckets and small barrels. They do not carry all the time, but usually have several boxes every spring. One box will last you for years if that is all you use them for. My wife just informed me there is only 20 to a box instead of 25.
little john


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## kwest (May 16, 2009)

how about putting it in the dishwasher with a big squirt of dawn. not only will you have a clean bucket but you will have clean kitchen floor.  dont ask me how i know


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## Peter (Mar 28, 2009)

Local ice cream store here sells them all summer long at $1 each.
Actually had food grade discussion with someone who was using an Ace hardware bucket as his honey reciever. He said he had worked for years in the plastics industry and basically there was no differenece in the plastic used in all the buckets.


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## MTINAZ (Jan 15, 2010)

It was my understanding that it is more than just what the plastic is made out of. Things like the lube they used in the mold needs to be food grade and all that jazz.


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## TonyC (Mar 20, 2011)

I recently noticed that Lowes in my area (South Carolina) has food grade 5 gal. buckets. The sign with the price for them, under US$4.00 (I think) says "Food Grade Buckets"

I like free better and will hit grocery stores again when I need them.

TonyC


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Hi Peter....yes, I know the ice cream store of which you speak, and we did buy from them several years ago. In part because we have a licensed commercial facility, and in part because we sell a fair amount of honey in 5gal pails, we buy new food grade pails these days.

We do live in Leominster (check the bottom of your handy 5gal bucket...probably says Leominster on it, or at least Plastican)...but can't buy pails except by the pallet here.

I have spoken to former execs of Plastican about the food grade issues...apparantly (at least in the case of plastican), the food grade designation comes from how the pail is handled _after_ it is molded (ie, workers wear gloves handling the food grade pails). With that said, we only use new 5gal food grade pails.


deknow





Peter said:


> Local ice cream store here sells them all summer long at $1 each.
> Actually had food grade discussion with someone who was using an Ace hardware bucket as his honey reciever. He said he had worked for years in the plastics industry and basically there was no differenece in the plastic used in all the buckets.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

deknow said:


> We do live in Leominster (check the bottom of your handy 5gal bucket...probably says Leominster on it, or at least Plastican)...but can't buy pails except by the pallet here.
> 
> 
> deknow


do you have the contact information for buying plastican? since they have been bought out I can only find the site of the purchaser and can't find where to order. The 5gal pails that I can get up here are not as good and have a manufacturing flaw that causes the bottoms to fracture after the honey is in them. Plastican are definetely the best 5gal pails I have found. thanks if you can help


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## throrope (Dec 18, 2008)

To all here, awesome thread.

I skipped over a few but didn't see my source, the local oriental restaurant. They get soy sauce etc. in buckets and ours was happy to provide a half dozen over a couple of our usual visits.


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## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

Peter said:


> Local ice cream store here sells them all summer long at $1 each.
> Actually had food grade discussion with someone who was using an Ace hardware bucket as his honey reciever. He said he had worked for years in the plastics industry and basically there was no differenece in the plastic used in all the buckets.


As with most industries, I understand when companies stop the line and just change the stamp on the bottom or the label they are applying.... It's just a matter of cost of production.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

MikeJ said:


> Anyone know if the common 5gallon buckets you can get at the hardware stores are food grade? Would they pass an inspector?


What kind of inspector? Surely if you asked an inspector they could tell you what qualifies as "food grade."

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

MikeJ said:


> Would they pass an inspector?
> 
> I am pondering making an extractor out of them.
> 
> ...


A. That would be a pretty small extractor. You must make your own frames to have ones small enuf to fit into an extractor made froma 5 gallon bucket.

B. You have Inspectors inspecting honey houses and extractors? ME's State Budget must be in better shape than NY's.


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## beesohappy (Jun 3, 2009)

I just checked the buckets I got from a local grocery store bakery and it has a number 2 with a triangle around it and says HDPE under it. I checked the 5 gallon bucket that has a honey gate in it that I got from Mann Lake and it says the same thing. 

Hope this helps.

Mike


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