A food grade drum is a container that is safe to use for the transportation and storage of ingredients and consumables…like wine! Food grade containers can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials, but at Skolnik, we stick to steel. Specifically, all Skolnik’s food grade and wine barrels are made with food grade 304 stainless steel for superior cleanliness and food safety.
The interiors of our stainless steel wine drums are sleek and smooth whereas plastic is porous. The very texture of plastic opens the door for bacteria and other baddies to contaminate your wine, especially if you intend to use the barrels more than once, and a huge benefit of stainless steel wine barrels versus oak is the reusability. Because of its porous texture, plastic is harder to clean and sanitize between uses. And, therefore, some leftovers from ‘Wine A’ could make it into the contents/affect the taste of ‘Wine B.’
Food grade steel is easier to clean and sanitize than plastic, and is food-safe from top to bottom. The seams, fitting and closure all meet any necessary food grade requirements in order to ensure both your wine and the consumer is protected.
Another area steel bests plastic is in strength and durability. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that steel is stronger than plastic, but this benefit is very important in the transportation and storage of food items. The goal of food-grade containers is to keep the materials or products they are carrying safe and secure, if the container suffers damage, the product could suffer damage and if the product suffers damage, the consumer could suffer damage.
Almost every food, drink or snack item you ingest was at one point stored, cured or transported in a food-grade container. Skolnik steel food-grade stainless steel wine drums are sturdy, UN and DOT certified as necessary, and easy for manufacturers to clean and reuse, all while ensuring that those consumable items remain safe for you to enjoy.