Aluminum foil / Aluminum tray liners health question

[Traegernator]

Serious question:

Do any of my fellow Traeger Forum'ers ever give any question or concern to the health effects of using aluminum tray liners and/or aluminum foil as a drip pan liner and/or aluminum disposable pan when smoking and grilling? There seems to be a scientific debate that heating aluminum foil, like say in a barbeque for example, increases one's uptake of aluminum whereby the aluminum leaches into the food when in direct contact at temperature and it also vaporizes the same. YES, everything can kill you, and NO, I am not trying to ruin the pellet grilling experience--I cook this way 3-nights per week on average. Is it a concern or is it not a concern?

See this well-debated study: http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf

And https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/alzheime.html

 

[CMTiger]

Never even thought about it. I bake on foil a lot too.

 

[Timmy]

People have been cooking with foil for years, we made foil packs in scouts and put them directly on the coals. That was like 45 years ago. I’m not to worried about it.

 

[midwest]

Kind of like the people who refuse to where deodorant because the aluminum will kill them. I think if that were the case we would have proven it by now.

 

[davwhite]

I would imagine they are talking about gassers which run at a higher temp. With our low cooking temps I wouldn't think it a problem.

 

[Traegernator]

Kind of like the people who refuse to where deodorant because the aluminum will kill them. I think if that were the case we would have proven it by now.

There is still much debate about that, too: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9515. This latest scientific study from last month, was conducted by Oxford University and Swiss scientists to show a causal link in mammals uptaking aluminum and it contributing to cancer or "carcinogenesis". Maybe it's better to NOT know and just keep on, keepin' on!

 

[Don C]

I thought I had to wear the aluminum foil as a hat while grilling?

Am I supposed to instead use the aluminum foil to line the Traeger Drip Pan ? ? ?
.

 

[Traegernator]

I thought I had to wear the aluminum foil as a hat while grilling?

Am I supposed to instead use the aluminum foil to line the Traeger Drip Pan ? ? ?
.

A gold star for you, sir! Well done.

 

[Traegernator]

Putting the merits of the aluminum debate aside, would there be a marketable advantage to having a drip pan that didn’t require aluminum liners ever? For example, if the drip pan never got sloppy and ALL grease, fat, and food pieces slopped straight into the bucket? This would save you the hassle from having to change it and it would take the argument about health concerns off the table completely.

What say you?

 

[midwest]

Ill take my chances with the deodorant..

 

[brianb]

On the flip side, there is already a carcinogenic reaction from grilling meat in general I recall reading about that decades ago that charring meat can lead to cancer soooooooo. I guess we are all risk takers anyway!

 

[ekb]

Serious question:

Do any of my fellow Traeger Forum'ers ever give any question or concern to the health effects of using aluminum tray liners and/or aluminum foil as a drip pan liner and/or aluminum disposable pan when smoking and grilling? There seems to be a scientific debate that heating aluminum foil, like say in a barbeque for example, increases one's uptake of aluminum whereby the aluminum leaches into the food when in direct contact at temperature and it also vaporizes the same. YES, everything can kill you, and NO, I am not trying to ruin the pellet grilling experience--I cook this way 3-nights per week on average. Is it a concern or is it not a concern?

See this well-debated study: http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf

And https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/alzheime.html

Thank you for posting those links and topic. Yes, we are concerned about using aluminum drip trays or foil in our new grill. We completely stopped using foil a year ago after learning how much aluminum is leached into food during cooking. Now we only use stainless steel lids or trays and cast iron pans. We just purchased a Pro 22 and are brainstorming ideas of what to use instead of the aluminum trays. Possibly a dedicated stainless steel cooking sheet will work.

In my previous profession as a hydrogeologist working with contaminated soil and groundwater, I've heard the typical response that 'we are fine after drinking the water for x amount of years'. Heavy metals and other chemicals build up in the body over time. There are so many toxins in the soil and drinking water considered 'safe' or below allowable limits by the EPA that are known neurotoxins at any level. Depending on who is funding the 'science' (often the companies that have $ to make w/ a specific result), there are many contrary 'results'. I'm not interested in debating what's toxic or not. Our choice is to keep as many heavy metals & chemicals out of our bodies as possible, including aluminum.

 

[Traegernator]

Thank you for posting those links and topic. Yes, we are concerned about using aluminum drip trays or foil in our new grill. We completely stopped using foil a year ago after learning how much aluminum is leached into food during cooking. Now we only use stainless steel lids or trays and cast iron pans. We just purchased a Pro 22 and are brainstorming ideas of what to use instead of the aluminum trays. Possibly a dedicated stainless steel cooking sheet will work.

In my previous profession as a hydrogeologist working with contaminated soil and groundwater, I've heard the typical response that 'we are fine after drinking the water for x amount of years'. Heavy metals and other chemicals build up in the body over time. There are so many toxins in the soil and drinking water considered 'safe' or below allowable limits by the EPA that are known neurotoxins at any level. Depending on who is funding the 'science' (often the companies that have $ to make w/ a specific result), there are many contrary 'results'. I'm not interested in debating what's toxic or not. Our choice is to keep as many heavy metals & chemicals out of our bodies as possible, including aluminum.

Well, friend, you and I are in the minority. Most folks don't think too much about this stuff. Traeger uses aluminum drip trays because they are low-cost, high profit margin, and disposable. The Traeger end-user also wraps his/her drip pan in Reynolds Wrap for the alternative low-cost convenience. Neither party gives it much if any further thought. The scientific evidence being proven out, especially over the past two years, indicates a strong correlation to the elevated aluminium content of brain tissue in Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis subjects. Make of that what you will. Carry on...

 

[JPSBBQ]

I thought I had to wear the aluminum foil as a hat while grilling?

Am I supposed to instead use the aluminum foil to line the Traeger Drip Pan ? ? ?
.

It’s supposed to be tin foil. Aluminum foil hats don’t work as well.

 

[OldMayfield]

Interesting topic. I only read the first paper in @Traegernator 's post, but a couple of comments.

1. The cases mentioned in that paper are aluminum in direct contact with food or in a contained environment (i.e., covering a pan containing the food). The case of aluminum foil drip pans seems much less severe.

2. Thanks to the fan in the Traeger grill, the atmosphere in the grill is refreshed, and the atmospheric path from the aluminum to the food is disturbed (I'll presume turbulent, but I'll yield to someone who has done the calculations or measurements).

3. Some other factors: at that temperature who knows what ionization occurs at the grate that would impede (or enhance?) Al transport and deposition? What does the smoke do to the same?

4. I'm guessing those Al foil drip buckets on the side of the grill don't matter.

Anyhow, glad we're discussing this. Glad @ekb and @Traegernator brought it up.