I'd like to make some kitchen appliances, but what materials are safe to handle foods with? For example, is welded stainless steel used for car repairs food safe?
Also, plastic ice cream tubs are obviously food safe by themselves, but do they remain food safe if they're plastic welded into new shapes?
What other materials can you recommend?
>welded stainless steel used for car repairs
wat
I don't know the English term for korjauspelti, but it's the best and cheapest metal for sale around here. And welding it into shape would allow making waterproof containers out of it, so it would be good to know if having the welding seams in contact with food is safe too.
Glass is a good idea too, although I have no experience working with it. Is it safe to just melt pieces with a blowtorch and stick them together?
Aluminium is plentiful too, but how do you make waterproof connections between the pieces?
> safe to just melt pieces with a blowtorch and stick them togethe
Not if your concerned about bacteria. Small cavities in glass and porcelain are very notorious bacteria growth sites and even dishwasher or boiling water won’t always reach them
> korjauspelti
Literally translates to car muffler repair sheet right? but I know too little of car exhausts to know what steel it would be, other anons may, or maybe ask on PrepHole what it exactly is and look it up
> aluminium
Is technically not food safe for long term storage of acidic stuff like vinegars. Anodised is okay but not dishwasher proof (will coat everything metal in the dishwasher with black flaky stuff)
> All plastics leech and most natural materials are porus
Yet PET and HDPE are the extremely common container materials for bulk foods. Just don’t heat them or expose to UV too often.
Forgot to add, there are food safe epoxy resins nowadays, shouldn’t be too expensive, and you can put them over wood to get a hard and non porous finish
I've never heard of these, but they would definitely open a world of possibilities.
yes, companies don't care about your long term safety, which is why they use what's cheapest (plastic)
Autobody sheet metal? Probably ask for a conformity certificate to check what steel grade it is, most likely you'll find a galvanized mild steel which is not the best idea. Check the stock you gonna buy with a magnet, if it sticks, that's not a proper austenitic stainless stuff. There are some types of highly alloyed steel with high chromium content that might be considered corrosion-resistant and marketed as such, but they are not true food grade inox.
Also, if you are going to weld these, you absolutely must check the material of the filler rod to be of required steel grade(s). You also need to clean your stainless welds with a stainless brush that has not been used for mild steels, and chemically passivate ("pickle") the welds with a special acid paste to remove residual oxidation and return the inox steel to its normal non-reactive state.
Also LMGTFY: https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/en/foodstuffs/food-sector/packages-and-other-food-contact-materials/question-and-answers/metals-and-alloys/
Stainless steel, aluminium and glass are the only things you should be using for food. All plastics leech and most natural materials are porus
>aluminium
send me a postcard from the alzheimer's ward
A good 300 series stainless like 316 is food safe and won't rust.
Also
>s welded stainless steel used for car repairs food safe?
Wat
>plastic
Just no.