My friends probably deserve accredited degrees alongside me as if im invited for tea then with me comes something to be user tested.

Thanks Kate for user testing my tray in your oven during our movie night.

The tray is oven safe according to my tests which are – cooking the tray for 45 minutes at 220oc, and food safe tested by cooking food in the tray and eaten by me. the video clip shows the process of purchase, through to cook, and burn. I did cook in the tray and we enjoyed the food that was cooked. no upset tummies.

The advise I have received from all my  contacts in industry have asked mirrored the questions asked by  Will MERCER Group Research & Development Director, COVERIS

• Have you got food contact legislation clearance to say the trays can be used in food contact applications, especially at ovenable temperatures up to and including 220oC?
• Have you go evidence to show no cross contamination from waste applications?
• Can you assure people who the tray is consistent from batch to batch?
• Have you got evidence to show that the product is safe to burn, both from the risk of being burnt on an open fire and also from the point of view of toxicity of the emissions?

I’m playing devils advocate here by challenging, as I live in a smokeless zone and have a dual fuel wood-burner which specifies high calorific fuel, as in good quality coal or seasoned wood, therefore how would I stand if the local authority checked the emissions from my burner?

These questions are key as the product develops.

I am currently having the product tested at the Biorenewables Development Centre at York University. This help has been offered by Andrew Cousins Director, Verdeco Limited

Currently these tests have been offered at no cost to me.

There is a growing interest in this material and product, my hope is I can accept help and funding to answer the above questions. this will need laboratory tests. Currently all i can do is test the materials at home in my kitchen, and through the help of friends.

The tests I have done are refrigerating and freezing the trays for a week, cooking the trays with and without food. Taste testing the cooked food myself to test food safety, and burning the trays in a home wood burner and observing little to no smoke and ash production.

I have been given advise by George May CCO of bio-bean, bio fuel made from coffee granules, I followed the advise of observing smoke production during burn and observing ash left post burn. The burn was clean. this can be seen on my video on You tube.

The tray shows some warping – this is normal for food trays. The IAM food tray doesn’t go wobbly like plastic trays, or brittle until completely cooled.

Cooking the tray, seems to improve burn quality, making the burn time longer.