Grease Guardian Fog Blog

In recent news, the number of bees that currently live in the US has decreased by almost a quarter, and it is believed to be caused by the conversion of land to grow corn for biodiesel production. Due to the reliance of bees for the fertilisation process in plants, experts believe that if this trend continues if could “drive up costs and destabilise crop production”. Due to the valuable role that bees play within the agricultural industry (bees pollinating services are valued at $3bn/year), if they were to decline further it would most likely have a seriously detrimental effect on US agricultural industry and the economy in general.

The corn that is grown for the production of biodiesel, releases an oily base when pressed and processed. This oil is then mixed with other components to create a usable substance. This is a clear example of how much oil and waste food can produce. This is why we encourage all restaurant owners to install a Grease Guardian automatic grease trap under their sink. This stops all fats, oils and grease (FOG) from going down the drain, cooling and hardening and causing drain blockages, bust pipes and other negative effects.

One possible way which the US believe they can get round this problem, is to import colonies of bees to the neglected areas and allow the imported bees to pollinate the plants/flowers. This has been termed ‘rent a bee’. Although this sounds like an efficient tactic, it has some downsides. The imported bees normally are not adapted to the neglected areas ecosystem and can pick up diseases and die off rapidly.

I believe the most important message to take from this news article is that some foods have a lot more in them than meets the eye. This is clearly evident in the oil extracted from corn. Other foods with a high FOG content include pizzas, burgers, chips and almost anything that is fried. As I said before, the best way to combat this is to install a grease trap in any food producing establishment.

That’s all from us at the Grease Guardian Department. See you all in the New Year.