Tattler Lids - SB Canning opinion September 2013

Here is my official position since many of my followers ask and this is a lot to write every time in response to the question. I think that anyone that is interested in the Tattler product should purchase one box to try for their own experience. I hope to answer some of the questions with this post. Getting the one box is a smaller investment and everyone seems to have a different outcome based on the comments and information I have received.

First, I do have concerns on a MFP level that the current comments have said not to "finger tighten" the lids until the jars are completely processed and on your dishtowel cooling. It's contradictory to experienced processing in that the seal occurs naturally by the evacuation of the air during the water bath or pressure canning. If you are tighten after the processing you are forcing the seal around the edge but not necessarily evacuating the air. The USDA says that when you take them out of the canner and the lids are not tight NOT to tighten them. Also additional questions about the obviousness of a seal going bad; does the rigid plastic lid have some ability to bend or bulge? 

For processing questions: How do you get them out of the hot water since they are not magnetic? Do they have a tool? or don’t they need to be boiled to sterilize?  I also know that over time, some say approximately three processings, you will still have to purchase new rubber rings. 

From my personal experience in canning this is not something that I would invest in because of the amount of jars that I give away and would anticipate no matter how much I begged that I wouldn't get half back. I also think that the people that I help on my page and at classes are so money conscience that they would have to be convinced that this was a superior product and that jars would not fail since many do canning for their families to survive.

The most important reason for me is the fact that they don’t ping when they are actually sealed.  I would miss that and at times, but not always, count on that for safety in my classes!

I feel that the current upside of Tattler is being a BPA free lid and is one of the biggest draws for many. Now that Jarden, the makers of Ball and Kerr lids, have also released their BPA lids I think that we are back to the cost savings long term of the re-useable lid. 

Finally, Laurie from Common Sense Homesteading, did a great write up on the comparison of Jarden vs. Tattler. The excerpt below is another "con" for me. I think that you will enjoy and be enlightened hopefully by her post.

From Common Sense Homesteading: http://www.commonsensehome.com/comparison-of-jarden-and-tattler-lids/

How much free (unbonded) formaldehyde is typically found in the plastic of the lids (if this has been tested).

From the Tattler website:

Many questions have been asked about the existence of formaldehyde in Acetal Copolymer.  While it is true formaldehyde is present in trace amounts, research proves it is only released at very high temperatures, well above any temperatures found in home food canning.  Here are the facts.

Heating our brand of acetal copolymer above 460 degrees F (238 C) should be avoided.  At these temperatures, formaldehyde, a colorless and irritating gas that can be harmful in high concentrations, is generated.

*Note:  When I originally posted about uncombined formaldehyde in the Tattler lids after reading The Natural Canning Resource Book in this post, it prompted a visit by Brad Stieg of Tattler, who shared the above information from the Tattler site.

Here is my concern:

When you have two ingredients going into a chemical reaction, A+ B=C. Unless the amounts of A and B equal exactly, down to the molecule, some of A or B will be left in the final product. Those “leftovers” are what could shed into your food with normal canning use – not the A and B that have already been converted to C.   Risks should be minimal to the home canner, as the food within the jar is not in constant contact with the lid, but they do exist.  I know many people are trying to reduce their use of plastic, or have immune systems that are already compromised, so I felt this was relevant.

Further, even if exposure levels to the consumer are low, those who work in the plants where these products are manufactured have much higher exposure rates, with accompanying health risks. For instance, here’s a formaldehyde toxicity study – http://oehha.ca.gov/air/chronic_rels/pdf/50000.pdf

“The binding of formaldehyde to endogenous proteins creates haptens that can elicit an immune response. Chronic exposure to formaldehyde has been associated with immunological hypersensitivity as measured by elevated circulating IgG and IgE autoantibodies to human serum albumin (Thrasher et al., 1987). In addition, a decrease in the proportion of T-cells was observed, indicating altered immunity. Thrasher et al. (1990) later found that long-term exposure to formaldehyde was associated with autoantibodies, immune activation, and formaldehyde-albumin adducts in patients occupationally exposed, or residents of mobile homes or of homes containing particleboard sub-flooring. The authors suggest that the hypersensitivity induced by formaldehyde may account for a mechanism for asthma and other health complaints associated with formaldehyde exposure.”

Among the occupations listed in the study were “chemical workers”. It doesn’t say specifically say that the people in the study were in any way responsible for your lids, only that they worked in the chemical industry and were exposed to formaldehyde.