PVC... is it safe for cheese?

[iwantthegold]

OK so I am getting some conflicting information about this one...

A friend of mine who is a civil engineer told me that I really should avoid PVC as it is not food safe and the acidic environment of the cheese will leach some pretty nasty and dangerous compounds into the cheese.

One of my Chem profs who started off working around the production of PVC told me about all the compounds that they used to use (lead and thalates amongst others) but have long since been disbanded.  He also mentioned that the "PVC" pipes that we buy at our stores (and that I bought for my cheese press) are not actually PVC and owes its white color to Calcium Carbonate (naturally found as limestone), which might affect flavor but really isn't terrible.  But he also thought that I should be wary with using any old product and suggested copper or tin based products, but those are awfully pricey.

At the same time, I see companies and people out there selling and saying that the hoop can be made of PVC, just as I made mine. 

I realize I should probably be going to the tube manufacturers but I don't want to have to deal with them right now.  As you can see I would much rather be able make or jury rig the hoop out of something already available.

-I did manage to get my hands on a few restaurant size cans (3kg) that had tomatoes in them and so they should be tin-plated steel cans.  Considering we are dealing with higher pHs than that of tomatoes, does anyone have a take on this?

Looking forward to your responses and help,
Ethan

[MarkShelton]

I've run into this conundrum also.

While I can't give expert advice (trust me there are plenty here that can and you'll probably hear from them also), here is what I know. PVC is not a food grade material. Any commercial operation trying to use them would be prohibited by the FDA or other regulatory agencies. However, it is apparently suitable for home and personal use. On his site, Steve Shapson (thecheesemaker.com) sells PVC camembert molds with the following disclaimer:
"**According to the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, using white PVC is ok for cheese or food production in the home. It may however not be suitable for commercial production of cheese for resale."

Personally I took the safest route and I bought all of my molds in food grade plastic or stainless steel.

I'm not sure about other metals. Your institutional sized cans seem pretty safe as they are obviously fit to hold foods, though I'm not sure they are the most appropriate fit for this purpose. Plus your cheese would have rings from the corrugations in the can, which I think would make it difficult to remove it from the mold.
Additionally, the corrugations in the cheese would drive me crazy...

[iwantthegold]

While I appreciate the comment, I can't really see how an item could be safe for home and personal use when its not commercially safe.  I am not one to really rely on the food regulatory agencies, but in any case they don't often put out restrictions on what consumers can use (like those little asterisk marks that say "these findings have not been evaluated by the FDA"). 

I really just couldn't find an appropriate diameter of piping (even PVC maxed out at 4" at my local hardware store) which was very disappointing.  I was thinking about a thin plastic sheet (maybe one of those crappy cutting sheets I have seen) around the inside of the can.. it might leave a line but it would be better than all those rings. 

[mosborn]

Those crappy cutting sheets are food-grade HTPE, too.  You can also find some great HTPE, food-grade plastic containers at restaurant supply stores and regular stores like walmart.  Containers like that can be modified by cutting, drilling, melting, to make very nice cheese molds.  moulds?  HOOPS!

HTPE is all over the place, and it's good material for working with food.  Milk jugs are made of it, for instance... and cutting boards, and many things.  It will frequently say "HDPE" in a triangle on the bottom of the item.

I made some cute little molds out of plastic (HDPE) cans used for frozen juice concentrate.  They made some sweet little tiny mini-camemberts, just right for individual servings.

[MrsKK]

While the big cans of tomatoes are safe for tomatoes, it is only while the can is sealed.  Add oxygen into the mixture and the acid will start eating away at the can.  this goes for juice cans and other "tin" cans as well.

I personally use 6" PVC that I had to special order through a plumbing company.  The minimum was a ten-foot pipe, which I had to pay $30 for.  Plenty for errors in cutting!

[Alex]

PVC = Poly-Vinyl-Chloride is dangerous during the manufacturing process, as at high temperature Chloride is released in gas form and it's counted causing cancer. I am not sure about using it at low temps. I have and use some PVC pipes as hoops.
HDPE = High Density Poly Ethylene, is a food grade material. The GEBERIT Swiss company is one of the most known companies in the world manufacturing this sort of pipes. I have some of this kind too, much-much more expensive then PVC.
Another option (also not cheap) is PMMA =  PolyMethylMethAcrylate, also known as  Lucite, Oroglas, Perspex and Plexiglas.

[jackdag]

I make some research couple year ago regarding PVC... do not touch this product any heat and UV (Band A-B and C)  radiation or acid environment release very dangerous chemical that cause cancer and other very potential bad effect, if u want to check just type on Google PVC and UV radiation and heat or acid.

Better to pay more buck... then risk our health and other one.

My opinion


See link bellow


PVC: The poison plastic

Healthy schools free from toxins are critical to a child's health and well-being. Most of the time spent during the years that children's bodily and intellectual capacities are developing is spent inside school buildings. An emerging toxic plastic of concern, polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl), is used widespread in schools across the nation, threatening children’s health.

http://www.chej.org/BESAFE/pvc/

My opinion
 

[Cheese Head]

Beside schools, most houses including ours here in Houston Texas has all it's water plumbing with PVC pipes. Hot & cold water supply use white PVC an waste mostly uses cheaper green.

When I drive by plumbing stores or am in hardware stores I see racks of PVC pipe and fittings for use in homes and commercial buildings.

I have and used white PVC for making my own hoops.