Rice and Homer Buckets

I was reading elsewhere and saw a comment of someone stating they were storing rice in Homer Buckets. No mention of mylar bags. Homer buckets are not food grade, it says it right on the Home Depot site. Some believe: These are made of HDPE. My research indicates this is the best choice for food grade plastic.
Many forget about the dye. After reading the comment of the man storing his rice straight in a Homer Bucket, I started researching. The comment is one month old and I wondered after one month, is the rice salvageable after being stored in a Homer Bucket? I have not commented on the persons mistake yet. My first instinct is to tell them to dump the rice, get mylar bags and start over. Anyone ever ran into this issue? I always think start fresh and safe.

 

Food grade buckets are the way to go. If no other choice I'd use mylar bags.

 

I'm still a large ammo bucket devotee, cleaned and then lined with mylar.

Plastic will not last. I had wheat in buckets, supplied by a well known source. After 5 years of stacking them in twos the bottom one split and the lid cracked.

You have to ask "What's the purpose of your storage" Life or death.

 

it took the threat of a lawsuit to get Home Depot to put that Homer Bucket disclaimer on the public website - they and Lowes were also trying and still using the "BPA Free" to connive past the "FDA Food Grade" designation ...

most containers and just about every bucket that's made is from HDPE - and they have the "recycle" symbol on the bottom >>>>> neither of which means diddly when it comes to the FDA regs ....

what actually contaminates the buckets worse than anything is the release chemical used in molding - if you look at the regular buckets you'll find a few with a black dried ooooze in the bottom - that's the regular release chem - don't take them home ....

 

Use mylar bags inside the Homer buckets. That would be safe. But yeah, proper food grade buckets are best.

 

I was going to link some threads from wayback times, but there are so many that touch on bulk storage in buckets, and so easy to find, I just gave up on it.

 

I feel like I have to educate this guy that put his rice in a Homer bucket. I think if it has been in there for less then a month it maybe okay but my gut is to tell him to get rid of his stored rice and do it right.

 

Good lord, did the ancient Greeks have these kind of problems with their clay amphorae?

 

I did an experiment a few years ago, put flour in a homer type bucket and checked it daily, it took on a chemical flavor after only three days, Yikes! Not good! Liquids are even worse from what I have heard, but i didn't bother trying it!
I do the mylar bags in food grade buckets figuring after I have used up that particular bucket that I would likely use it for rain water collection and storage!

 

I haven’t checked recently but Menards (a central US home improvement chain) used to stock and sell food grade white 5 gal buckets for about the same price as HD’s Homer buckets.

AT

 

In my AO a homer bucket lists for $3.25 and the lid for another $1.68. That is 4.93 per bucket, plus tax. I can go to any FireHouse sub shop and get pickle buckets for $2.00 each and no tax. The upside is the FH buckets are known to be food grade, and less than half the cost. The downside is that whatever you store might have a bit of pickle flavor to it, even if you clean them really well. If I was storing food in buckets, I think I could put up with a bit of pickle flavor. It has been told that you can get frosting buckets from grocery stores that have a bakery, but I have never tried.

 

Wash a Firehouse bucket and coat the inside (while wet) with baking soda and sit it in the sun for a day. Mine came out smell free.

 

Even in used cleaned pickle/frosting buckets I would use Mylar bags and O2 packets.

 

@Ura-Ki that is the knowledge I was looking for. Interesting how quick the food absorbed the scent of the bucket. Regarding the post I read elsewhere, I think the rice is now contaminated so he needs to throw it out then store his rice properly.

 

all this info is good to know... thanks

 

Plastic is not an oxygen barrier and oxygen will degrade food that is stored in them.. If plastic is used for food storage then it should be sealed in mylar with oxygen absorbers.. Metal containers are best as they are a oxygen barrier and will keep the rodents out as well..

 

Metal containers, mylar, flood with co2 (dry ice works if you do it right).

 

My dry food storage is portioned first with an 02 , then bagged with a few again with 02, and again with 02 then put in buckets with 02so that in the event the bucket is compromised for any reason what is in side is still preserved . even if the bucket is opened during storage it is not the primary shield .Even if a bag is slightly compromised the 02 absorber will continue to work till it is exhausted . vacuum and or nitrogen once compromised have no back up .
Ideally I would have liked to use the square buckets seeing they use the storage space more efficiently ,but they are much more expensive. and though they don't seal as well I don't rely on that seal it is a barrier for vermin and a means to handle for transportation if required.
Any of you prepared to bug out with your food reserves ?

 

I use quart mason jars to store my dry things like beans and rice and one of those air sucker thing of ma jigs to suck the air out of the jar and seal them. Also don't have to open a 10# bag to get a couple cups of rice and a quart of dry beans is just right for the pots I make now days. Best thing is unlike with wet, high temp canned stuff the lids can be used over and over and still make a good seal every time with the air sucker thing of ma jig.

 

You've now enough information to let him know he's going to poison himself. And you are hesitating because?