What About the Plastic

So what about the plastic in the Fermenta Lock cap? Is that a problem?

Plastics have got a lot of bad press lately about potentials to leach chemicals into foods. Some plastics do this worse than other plastics, but with all of them, the rate at which chemicals leach, is very low to begin with. They typically only have significant issues with leaching under two circumstances (and even then, it is still a very small amount):

First, when the food is in prolonged contact with the plastic (hence, the concerns over plastic storage containers).

Second, when food is heated in plastic containers, the leach rate increases many times.

Fermenta Lock lids don’t typically come in contact with the food, and when it does, the contact is brief, and limited to small amounts of food.

Heating is not part of the fermenting process either, so you won’t have issues with increased leaching potentials due to heat.

Fermenta Lock is a lid, which is manufactured for food use. Plastic lids just aren’t an area of significant safety concern.

Rubber products actually leach more into foods than plastic, yet most fermenting systems use some kind of rubber. It is not a concern either, simply because the rubber does not come in contact with the food in typical usage. When it does accidentally, the contact is brief, and not in circumstances that would leach any molecules in sufficient number to be a problem, unless you are hypersensitive to latex, in which case, you are going to have problems with any product which uses rubber at all.

In general, we avoid the use of plastic in our kitchen, where practical, but we use these lids simply because they are safer and more stable for fermenting than metal lids could be.

CopyCat Notice

The ORIGINAL one-way valve fermenting airlock! Imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery, and we have noticed that our product has been copied by other sellers of fermenting products. Remember, if you see someone else selling a one-way valve airlock for fermenting, THEY copied US, not the other way around! Fermenta Lock is still the only original invention, handmade in the US. If it isn't orange, it isn't the original!

We invented Fermenta Lock, Fermenta Free, and the valve used for Fermenta Fido and other Fermenta Airlock products. We invented Fermenta Dunk Extender. Patents are prohibitively expensive, and designed by the government not to protect the rights of individuals, but to provide another source of revenue and control for the government and lawyers. We are good at what we do. We have endless ideas and endless creativity, and competition does not scare us. Impatient thieves do not scare us - they are too busy taking shortcuts to make a success of it anyway, and they won't want to take the effort to actually MAKE a product and fill orders.

So if you want to copy our idea, go right ahead. If you want to market and sell a competing product, you are welcome to do so, as long as you do not patent our idea - we had it first, and our posts on FaceBook announcing the invention and launch of it will prove that. This idea is officially in the public domain, placed there by us. We will NOT release supply sources, or part names unless you want to buy them - we'll be happy to sell you an instruction kit. If you buy our product, or look at the images and figure it out for yourself, good on you. Compete with us if you like, just don't screw us, and we'll get along just fine. Big companies who might want to screw us may have more money, and more lawyers than we do, but we have more to gain by suing the pants off a big company, and believe me, we will be well motivated to do so if anyone patents our idea and claims it as their own - this is a free idea. Everybody now owns it.

Published June 23, 2012

Wholesale, Export, and Manufacture of this product by other companies is an option. International distributorships are available for those wishing to export. Please email us to inquire about access to our wholesale website, or in regards to manufacturing any of our products.

Business Building Services Are Available - If you are wanting to build a business like this, where you make things in the home and sell them direct to the customer, or if you want to build a business that you can sell to other people as a complete business package, Firelight Heritage Farm is now offering Cottage Industry Services to aid small business owners in building a successful product or service business from the home. Don't know what you want to do? We can help you figure that out too (something original, and just yours, not a canned business). You get the wisdom and uniquely successful perspective and experience of people who have been business, marketing, and website professionals for more than a dozen years. For more information, visit CottageIndustrialRevolution.com. Why copy someone else's business when you can do something uniquely you and enjoy it so much more?