http://imgur.com/a/s6Wzf
So I made a banana nut bread in a 10mL bottle the other day and everything was fine and dandy. I loved it so much I decided to make a 30mL last night.
The 30mL bottle looks like I just shook the juice up but I didn't in these photos. There is some white 'gunk' that looks like bubbles stuck to the inside of the bottle.
Both bottles are LDPE from US Plastics. The only flavorings in this bottle are banana nut bread, brown sugar and marshmallow.
Any ideas on what is going on here? Do you think plastic is leaching into the juice? I've only had a few drops out of the bottle before I realized it and stopped vaping it.
Did you heat steep it?
I did but only in my normal way which is microwaving rice for 35-40 seconds and putting bottles in until cool. I do this same process with all of my juices and I have never seen anything like this.
Artificial banana flavoring is made from isoamyl acetate. This compound is stable in LDPE at room temperature (20C), but will dissolve LDPE at higher temperatures.
Well I made another 10mL batch last night and did not heat steep it at all and when I got up this morning the bottle looked like it was starting the same thing, just not nearly as bad.
Here's a pic: http://i.imgur.com/GOLpicy.jpg
Some of those are actually bubbles from me walking into work and turning the bottle to take the picture. But most of that is the same stuff as the 30mL. I'm going to switch to glass ASAP. But in the meantime no more banana flavors I suppose. I am not sure why my first bottle didn't do this, even with heat steeping but the last two have.
I recommend trying to switch to amber medical glass bottles to prevent this.
Also be aware that LDPE begins to degrade at 80C/176F (some sources claim 220F), so use a candy thermometer to check your rice or water bath. I use to use rice (now use water and thermos) and often had to let the rice cool after removing from microwave. If it smells like popcorn, it is probably too hot.