Food containers are made with durable materials; however, improper handling may break your containers. In baking products, most of their products that touch the ground are considered unsafe for human consumption, creating a significant loss in your budget. Another problem that you need to solve will be the new storage for your food.
Purchasing new containers will increase additional costs on your side and can be challenging for your pocket. In addition, after few inspections, you might notice that the cracks and breaks can still tamper. Luckily, you’ve thought of repairing your food containers with super glue.
But before placing your glue to fix the cracks, you need to consider two things. First, you are handling a container for food, and using toxic glue is not recommended. And second, the bond that you’ll be using must provide durability to hold enormous amounts of dry ingredients.
Is Super Glue Food Safe?
Superglue, or cyanoacrylate adhesive, is a type of instant adhesive made to provide a high-strength and fast-bonding to any material. It is also known to create excellent resistance for moisture and temperature. It could be used with metal, wood, plastic, stone, ceramic, paper, and other substances. However, while super glue can provide perfect binding with standard materials, you cannot use it for wool, cotton, and most especially food-grade containers.
Cyanoacrylate adhesive is made with toxic chemicals that are generally not recommended for food-safe materials. In addition, it is made with substances that are not FDA-approved for either indirect or direct food contact, making it not suitable for food preparation. In food containers like those used for baking flour, using the plastic fixed with toxic super glue will cause cross-contamination on your side.
If you are looking for material to quickly repair your food containers and other kitchen utensils that will contact your food, super glue is not recommended. While super glue provided maximum strength, you need a food-safe adhesive without the cyanoacrylate content. Good thing, other excellent bonds are considered non-toxic and food-safe.
Epoxy glue is a type of food-safe glue with the same bond as cyanoacrylate adhesive without creating toxic substances. These adhesives are made with materials that are FDA-proven food-safe. Other variations are two-part epoxy glues consist of hardener and resin that are combined before using.
Either way, these glues provide resistance to moisture, solvents, and oils. It also offers high tensile strength and shear strength needed for your food containers. It is also an affordable, high-quality adhesive that can bind your containers effectively without applying toxic substances to them.
Can Gorilla Glue Be Used on Food Containers?
Gorilla Super Glue is a go-to adhesive known for its extreme strength and quick setting time. It can provide long-lasting repairs within 10 to 45 seconds after application. In addition, this adhesive is reinforced further to resist impact from bumps and drops. While Gorilla Super Glue can be used for surfaces like plastic, stone, metal, ceramic, rubber, and paper—this adhesive is not recommended for food containers and other kitchen utensils.
This is because Gorilla Super Glue is made with a high-quality cyanoacrylate substance. This toxic material can harm the skin, lungs, and stomach once inhaled or ingested. Therefore, an adhesive made with this material should not be used for direct and indirect application in food-grade utensils.
While the Gorilla Super Glue variant is deemed toxic and unsafe for food use, the Gorilla 2-Part Epoxy can solve this. This food-safe super glue alternative can be used to make quick repairs in the kitchen—where most food preparations occur. It is affordable, easy to apply, and dries quickly, suitable for instant repairs.
Aside from creating a bond for surfaces, this two-part epoxy can also be used for gap-filling. This is a good deal since some broken particles from food containers are hard to reattach in their original form.
The Gorilla 2-Part Epoxy also comes with an easy-to-use syringe that can make your application process a lot easier since it prevents the resin and hardeners separate from one another. To use this Gorilla glue variant, here are the steps you need to do:
- Check the severity of the broken food container. If there are small pieces that cannot be bind together, consider fill-gapping the broken parts instead. Cracks are easier to fix since it only needs a sealant to prevent further cracking.
- Clean the plastic with water and dry it clean. Next, make the plastic more flexible by applying lukewarm water on the surface. You can also use a hot towel on the area until it softens a little. This will help the adhesive to adhere faster and provides a smoother surface to work with.
- Try to weld the cracks with a heat source or through friction. You may use a soldering iron or sandpaper to fill in the tiny gaps. This method is recommended if you have a thick plastic surface.
- For larger holes and gaps, apply an extra layer of glue until it binds well. You may place cardboard inside the food container to prevent the glue from entering the vessel. Allow the material to dry slightly before reapplication. Smoothen the surface once more with sandpaper and water.
Is There Having the Food Safe Super Glue?
While toxic super glues are considered not safe for your food containers, there are still available products in the market that you can use to repair your utensils. Listed below are some of the food-safe superglues that you can use:
- Elmer’s E1012 China and Glass Cement. Aside from food containers, this can also be used for other food-grade materials like pottery, ceramics, and glass. This glue also comes with non-toxic cement, which can catalyze several surfaces. The only downturn for this product is that it needs three days of curing before you can use your food containers again.
- Rhino Glue Pro Kit. This pro kit comes with tough glue, gel glue, and brush-on glue—providing versatile applications that work on most surfaces. This glue can bond glass, ceramics, metals, rubber, vinyl, wood, acrylics, and plastics within seconds. However, it would help if you worked fast when using this glue since the catalyst can dry up too quickly.
Picture from Amazon – Gorilla Store. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
