# Contaminated lye



## paradisi (Sep 28, 2020)

This has been resolved for me, but here's a safety heads-up.

A pail of food grade lye I got in February, when opened this summer, smelled funny (diesely) when I took the lid off, though the lye itself appeared normal. 

A test batch made up with my normal distilled water started out looking and smelling ok but as it stopped steaming, black gunk appeared and clung to the side of the pitcher and the stirring spoon. 

I called the company (Duda Diesel) as it was past Amazon's return date, and had difficulty getting a person, and when I did, it took two days of arguing via phone and emails with several people that this is not normal, and was their lye causing it, and then making another batch & documenting & sending photos of the fresh distilled water jug, my freshly washed tools, their pail and lot #, and the black flotsam as it was forming, .... three times, as they said they didn't get the pics...to get them to admit there was a problem requiring them to do something.  That 2nd batch had even more black scum form than the first. 

It took another week for them to replace (they would not refund) the product. 

Needless to say I'll never buy lye from them again; I have a pail of hazardous waste to dispose of.  This is the lot #: L309N 

Recent reviews on Amazon include their lye being adulterated with tiny plastic granules that look like lye but never dissolve.

They say they're mostly making sanitizer now.. and I wouldn't buy that either.


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## AliOop (Sep 28, 2020)

That's terrible! Thank you for alerting the rest of us.


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## Arimara (Sep 28, 2020)

Did you contact Amazon? Their product was clearly defective and you deserve a refund for it, not another possibly defective product?


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## Marsi (Sep 28, 2020)

i hope noone has used this lye for pretzels 

in america you can report this issue as a food problem

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/porta...blic-health-alerts/report-a-problem-with-food
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition phone number 1-888-723-3366
electronic complaint form https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/


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## AliOop (Sep 28, 2020)

@Marsi great point, since it was food-grade lye. Someone might also have used it to cure olives or other food items, too.

You can also report them on their Better Business Bureau page. Seems like they are having a few problems lately.


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## paradisi (Sep 28, 2020)

Because it was past the return date there was only the option to contact the seller, in my account. And I was scrambling to find a different source for lye, which I did. 

I too hope nobody was buying that lye for food.  With luck most of their customers are washing parts or making biodiesel.


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## AliOop (Sep 28, 2020)

paradisi said:


> Because it was past the return date there was only the option to contact the seller, in my account. And I was scrambling to find a different source for lye, which I did.
> 
> I too hope nobody was buying that lye for food.  With luck most of their customers are washing parts or making biodiesel.


You can still report them to the BBB and the FDA. I would.


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## shunt2011 (Sep 28, 2020)

Yikes, thank you for sharing this.  What a terrible experience


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## paradisi (Sep 28, 2020)

I did. 

And have reported the issue to Amazon re: food safety.





AliOop said:


> You can still report them to the BBB and the FDA. I would.



They said as it was sold & fulfilled by a 3rd party, it was up to the 3rd party. 



Arimara said:


> Did you contact Amazon? Their product was clearly defective and you deserve a refund for it, not another possibly defective product?


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## Jersey Girl (Sep 28, 2020)

Wow...thank you for sharing this. I was all set to buy NaOH from them for my last order but went with ED instead as they had a good sale. I did get KOH from them that I haven’t opened yet though (separate containers, not a pail).


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## earlene (Sep 28, 2020)

Thank you for sharing this information, *paradisi*.


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## KimW (Sep 28, 2020)

Yes, thank you for posting this!


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## TheGecko (Sep 28, 2020)

Thank you for sharing, so many people don't.


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## Arimara (Sep 28, 2020)

paradisi said:


> They said as it was sold & fulfilled by a 3rd party, it was up to the 3rd party.


That's a shame.


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## Zany_in_CO (Sep 29, 2020)

Thank you for posting this. Both my NaOH and KOH are from *Duda Diesel*!  I love *the Lye Guy*, but his shipping was quite a bit higher the last time I ordered.


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## Jersey Girl (Sep 29, 2020)

Zany_in_CO said:


> Thank you for posting this. Both my NaOH and KOH are from *Duda Diesel*!  I love *the Lye Guy*, but his shipping was quite a bit higher the last time I ordered.


I live in NJ and the lye guy’s shipping was insane.


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## Suzette (Sep 29, 2020)

paradisi said:


> This has been resolved for me, but here's a safety heads-up.
> 
> A pail of food grade lye I got in February, when opened this summer, smelled funny (diesely) when I took the lid off, though the lye itself appeared normal.
> 
> ...


Wow, sorry for your headache, but appreciate you providing this info! I buy lye from Amazon and will be careful to stay clear of these folks. Such a shame that it took so long to get some sort of resolution!


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## HowieRoll (Sep 29, 2020)

Thank you, paradisi, for sharing this experience.  This whole thing must have been very frustrating.  I've ordered from Duda in the past (last time was mid-March) and luckily haven't encountered this issue, but will definitely keep it in mind when looking to re-order in the future.


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## Arimara (Sep 30, 2020)

This is the most recent lye I bought- https://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Hydro...de&qid=1601454238&sprefix=sodi,aps,258&sr=8-5

Pretty good so far. I probably could spend the extra $5 on the lye guy. Small businesses need support too.


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## Catscankim (Sep 30, 2020)

Arimara said:


> This is the most recent lye I bought- https://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Hydroxide-Grade-Caustic-Pound/dp/B07KNR9SVF/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1W8QBA3FLN3TT&dchild=1&keywords=sodium+hydroxide&qid=1601454238&sprefix=sodi,aps,258&sr=8-5
> 
> Pretty good so far. I probably could spend the extra $5 on the lye guy. Small businesses need support too.


That is the lye that I use. Great shipping, free on amazon, never an issue


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## paradisi (Sep 30, 2020)

I





HowieRoll said:


> Thank you, paradisi, for sharing this experience.  This whole thing must have been very frustrating.  I've ordered from Duda in the past (last time was mid-March) and luckily haven't encountered this issue, but will definitely keep it in mind when looking to re-order in the future.


It has been.  I'm still trying to get them to take the replacement back, as otherwise I have to take it to Hazmat too. I told them I didn't want replacement, I wanted a refund, but they ignored me.

And you'd think Amazon would care about a seller selling contaminated food products.

Gives me a new perspective on online marketplaces


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 16, 2020)

Great Information'


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