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Tin plating of cookware standard

Dear sirs: I would appreciate very much if someone can inform me if there is a standard that specifies tin plate for cookware made out of steel. This in the understanding that tin is a non toxic metal. Please let me know how I can get a copy of that standard. Thanks in advance.

Oscar Infante
Sales y Compuestos Ltda. - Chile
1999

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Since tin is fairly soft, I would imagine that the life of the coating would depend on who was scraping the pan. A frying pan would probably need to be replated every few years, even if you are careful with the scraper.

The Canning Handbook [on eBay, Amazon, AbeBooks affil links] mentions a British Standard 1872:1964 Electroplated Coatings of Tin. For use in contact with food, etc., on ferrous metals, a minimum thickness of 1.2 mils (30 microns) of Tin. B.S. classification Sn 12S.

Send me an omelet pan when you get the bugs worked out :-)

  
Tom Pullizzi
Falls Township, Pennsylvania
1999

In the old world, before st. steel and aluminum cookware became commonplace, copper and brass was used for most cookware, as I understand. These required tin plating which was done manually on heated pots using flux and tin wire (without a plating shop). But I am not aware of tin plating on steel cookware. That would be interesting. However, I wonder how tin matches with steel in cooking applications.

Mandar Sunthankar
- Fort Collins, Colorado
1999

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