Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
Hello, apologies if this is the wrong place to ask, but I figured I might be able to get an answer.
I am working on designing a product for storing dry tea and was wondering if it would be safe to store this tea in a PLA or PETG vessel long-term without using any epoxy. I want to avoid using epoxy because most of the food-grade epoxy on the market are for short-term food contact.
Does anyone have any thoughts about this? I've looked online and can't really find anything related to long-term dry food food storage. Most of the research is on direct-contact.
Probably worth mentioning that since this is tea I'm storing, I'm intending to put it in very hot water when using it. Would like to print with Signal White PETG. Currently using MK3 with 0.40 brass hot-end + nozzle.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
In general, FFF printing is not suitable for food contact. The process leaves very small holes in prints that bacteria can collect and proliferate in. Note that this is regardless of whether you use "food safe" filaments to print. Truly food safe printing uses -- among other things -- stainless steel nozzles as brass contains small amounts of lead that can leach into food. This, combined with many filaments not being dishwasher safe, makes them a poor choice for food contact. If this is for your use only, it may not be a big deal. If these products are going to be sold commercially, I would think the potential for liability would outweigh the benefits.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
@bobstro
Thank you for the response, the general consensus I'm picking up is to not sell something printed that comes in contact with food. Ceramics, glass, tins, etc seem to be better for that sort of thing.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
Why do it at all? If it's to save money, then it's a fools errand, but if it's to be decorative, maybe you could 3D print a sleeve that goes on the outside of an otherwise food safe container.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
@dimprov
It started out as a personal challenge to create a system that could be used to store and organize loose-leaf tea. I had so many different kinds laying around unlabeled it felt like a fun problem to try and tackle. More for decorative purposes than anything else, but wanted to sell them to other people after some development and make some money. Then after learning about how FFF could contaminate the tea over time, it just didn't seem worth it to me as a solution for long-term storage, or for selling to other people.
Might re-visit the project again in the future, but for now I've opted for a more minimal approach.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
I think @dimprov's idea of 3d printing sleeves for food-safe containers is the way to go. You get to be creative with the sleeve, but remove all the food-safe liability (provided you verify the containers are food-safe). I think 3D printed sleeves around glass containers that allow viewing the contents would be great.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
@bobstro
That's where my head is at right now. I was considering mason jars since they are so inexpensive, but glass is a bit tricky with tea because air, light, warmth, dampness, and, odors can have a negative effect on tea. Thus the trade-off of transparency might compromise the quality of the tea. I've found that I can purchase tins in bulk for a decent price and am going to explore ways to build vessels around them.
RE: Dry Food Storage in 3D Printed Parts
I have looked at Mason jars for birdfeeders as well. They sell tinted Mason jars, FWIW. Ornamental ends on those wood storage tubes might look very nice.