Stainless Steel Saves Lives
Stainless steel is widely used across food-related industries from production to catering and from serving to washing-up. The hygienic properties of the metal are particularly suited to such applications and a new publication released by the ISSF (International Stainless Steel Forum) dramatically highlighted this fact recently.
The publication is entitled ‘Clean Cooking with Stainless Steel’ and explores the little-known fact that around 4m deaths are caused prematurely each year in developing countries by smoke exposure from traditional heating and cooking methods - for comparison, this figure exceeds the number of deaths caused by TB or malaria.
Around 3bn people in the world heat homes and cook food using open fires or stoves and smoke exposure from these practices is the fourth-worst disease risk factor in the developing world, according to estimates by the Global Burden of Disease Study and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.
Stainless steel is being used extensively in the proposed solutions to these shocking issues. Biomass, forced-air and solar-cooking stoves made using stainless steel components are highly-resistant to corrosion and the reflective properties of certain grades can be dramatically effective for cooking using the power of the sun.
Austenitic grades, which have a low thermal conductivity potential, can be used to ensure the outside of the cooking device does not become dangerously hot and alloys of ferritic steels or chromium/manganese allow material costs to be reduced to a level that makes them affordable to families in the grip of poverty.
It is fantastic to see stainless steel being used to save and improve people’s lives. The metal continues to prove its versatility and we look forward to seeing the results of this important project.
BS Stainless supply a complete selection of stainless steel products and feature a specific section relating to Catering and Food Production. This section includes products such as stainless steel blanks, anti-bacterial solutions, stainless steel coil, electropolishing wire and stainless steel sheet.
For more information on our quality collection of stainless steel, please call +44 (0)1772 337555 or email info@bsstainless.co.uk.