When I first took part in the development of wood particle standards in 2005, I remember a customer calling to inquire about the standard of barbecue pellets and whether there were any test requirements to confirm the quality of the product as a cooking fuel. Since then, I believe that there are at least one or several similar inquiries every year. Dialogue is always the same. Since BBQ pellets are used as fuel for cooking food, some tests or evaluations may be required to verify that the BBQ pellets are a healthy fuel without causing a health risk.
While this logic is still reasonable, I am not aware of any release of the relevant quality standards or requirements for the production and use of barbecue pellets until today. In the 2005, barbecue pellets were hardly popular. There are several companies in production, but this is a relatively rare situation. Fast forward to 2018, many companies are producing barbecue particles, the market is also expanding sharply. The topic of barbecue pellets is now frequently seen in publications, conferences and daily conversations. Although they are becoming more and more popular, as far as I know, there are no relevant standards or any other known guidance on the production and use of barbecue pellets. This is a problem that has been recognized by the Particle Fuel Research Institute, and the discussion of BBQ particles has begun to form a PFI BBQ Pellet caucus in a coordinated manner. These efforts are designed to cover all aspects of this emerging industry, so if you are interested in engaging in discussions, then I suggest you contact the PFI to see how you can get involved.
As a standard developer, I will help if the final decision requires a BBQ particle standard. Independent of a real BBQ pellet standard project, I have been asked enough questions and I want to express some of my ideas in this column.
When I think of barbecue pellets, I think of human health, product quality and product performance. Barbecue fuel must meet health standards (images from the Internet) In my opinion, human health is the most important, but this part of the discussion needs to be limited. It is well known that wood smoke is harmful to human health, so the use of wood pellets is essentially exposed to smoke, but the same problems persist, campfire, charcoal barbecues, and even cooking fumes, whatever the fuel is. These types of smog are socially acceptable and should not be the focus of human health discussions. It is more important to focus on preventing unnecessary risks, especially in unexpected or unexpected situations.
In my opinion, similar to heating particles, producers should provide a very high level of assurance that no chemical treatment or other contaminated raw materials are used to make barbecue pellets. Product quality is another area that needs to be reviewed. In developing standards for heating particles, the PFI Standards Board works with electrical manufacturers to assess how granular stoves work and, equally importantly, what might cause them to fail to work properly. The quality parameters found in the PFI standard are largely based on this review and are designed for optimal performance of the equipment. Similar work should be done to verify what is most important for the function of the pellet grill.
Based on this type of evaluation, it is possible to determine whether the pellet grill matches the heating particles or whether additional parameters need to be managed. Finally, there are different points of view about what the grilled pellets should be. One might argue that a mesquite (a leguminous shrub) particle should contain only mesquite, but the best oven performance and flavour may be achieved by a certain percentage of mesquite, which requires the addition of other types of wood to achieve balance. In addition, some products use seasonings rather than specific types of wood. I don't think it's my field to say that one school is better than the other.
However, I will provide advice because the market is still young and it is wise to review these different approaches and different products to reach a consensus. I will be very interested to see the results of the PFI's BBQ pellets Core Conference and to provide assistance within my reach.
I hope this will help increase the use of barbecue pellets and prove that this is an important opportunity for the wood pellet manufacturing industry.
Author: Chris Wiberg
