I recently used 5% TFA Key Lime in a Key Lime Pie recipe. Yesterday I came across this: Safety List, and it shows that TFA Key Lime and a few other flavors contain vitamin E (not vitamin E acetate). These flavors are listed as “Avoid”.
How concerned should I be with using the juice I’ve made? Should I throw it out, and remake the recipe with a different Key Lime flavoring? If so, any suggestions on a replacement, please?
The compendium says "This is NOT Vitamin E Acetate, but it is still a lipid": I suppose that's why it got flagged (even though I can't find any description of what was flagged, or why). Interestingly enough, TPA's component list says there is < 0.01%, but this ingredient is not listed as a hazard in the SDS.
This same ingredient is also used in Citrus Punch and Lemon Lime flavor. I use Key Lime and Lemon Lime in a couple of recipes. I suppose if you mix this flavor a gallon at a time and vape a quart a day, those lipids may be an issue, but considering how little there is and how little I use, I don't expect to make any changes any time soon.
I've personally vaped about 1L of a liquid with TFA Key Lime at 1% and I'm not dead.
But that doesn't mean it's safe.
Since I found out about the vitamin E in TFA Key Lime I have switched to FA Florida Key Lime at about 1%.
I'd rather be safe than sorry personally.
I emailed them a while back asking about it because people were freaking out about it on my facebook group and other groups. See below...
Hi Reece I want to give you as complete of an answer as I can, so this email is rather long!
As you know, our flavors do not contain Vitamin E Acetate, which is the component the media has been referring to. It is possible that some news reports made a mistake and referred to Vitamin E Oil, but that is incorrect.
The below flavors contain Vitamin E Oil (USP) which is used at very small trace levels as an antioxidant for the preservation of the freshness of the citrus ingredients. (To keep them from oxidizing, vitamin E is an antiloxident)
Citrus Punch Flavor ** - there at 0.0020 percent
Key Lime Flavor ** - there at 0.0004 percent
Lemon Lime Flavor** - there at 0.5004
Remember also that our flavors are meant to be further diluted as well, so the percentage goes down even further.
Good research. Thank you for sharing. It would be nice if the Safety List has this type of information included, though I understand why they probably don't have that on hand.
edit: correction, the Safety List does have a link to TFA's website, which contains the necessary information.
Tocopherol (aka vitamin E) is commonly used in trace amounts as a preservative (it prevents other ingredients from oxidation.) We're talking less than 1% here, in a flavor that you're going to dilute by another 50-100X. This is quite different from using large amounts of tocopherol acetate to cut TCH while controlling viscosity so as to make it appear purer than it is.
That said, if you are concerned about inhaling any vitamin E, there are plenty of alternative lime flavors available.
TFA Key Lime is pretty strong and often just 0.5% is enough to do the job. 1/10 of the amount is a pretty big reduction so it would probably lower the risk if you could cut it way back in your recipe. If it's not enough you could try augmenting with another lime at 0.5 and see where that gets you. I've tried it with FA Lime Cold Pressed and INW Shisha Lime and it works well with those two.
Thank you for the alternative flavor suggestions. If the TFA Key Lime doesn't work out for me, I may try one of those.
As far as the percentages, I was going of this recipe: Key Lime Pie Bites, which calls for 5%. If it ends up being too strong after the steep is complete, I'll drop the amount down and see how that is.
Yeah, dropping the lime wouldn't work in that particular recipe. I doubt it will be too strong in that mix. Placid clone v7 would be a better example though. One of my favorite recipes.
I'm personally fine with a few substances at minimal levels which I could avoid but I don't want to avoid because I really like a certain flavour or additive. Doesn't mean I'd vape everything just because it's still safer than smoking, but an oil at 0,x% in a flavouring that's heavily diluted again doesn't worry me.