What VOT (Vegetable Oil Treated) means
To spin jute, the fibre is first softened with a batching oil. VOT means that oil is a food-safe vegetable oil instead of the standard mineral (petroleum) oil. That single change is what makes a jute bag food-grade: odourless, and safe to hold rice, coffee, cocoa and other foods without contaminating them.
The problem: mineral batching oil
Standard jute is batched with mineral oil, a petroleum product. It is cheap and works well, but it carries a kerosene-like odour and releases volatile hydrocarbons that can migrate out of the fabric and into the food packed inside. For coffee, cocoa, nuts and grain, that taint is a rejection risk and a food-safety failure.
The fix: vegetable batching oil
VOT jute replaces the mineral oil with a refined vegetable oil, commonly rice bran oil. The fibre still softens and spins, but the finished bag has no kerosene smell and does not shed mineral hydrocarbons into the contents. The result is a natural sack that is genuinely food-contact safe.
The food-grade standard
Food-grade jute is made to the International Jute Organisation standard IJO 98/01, which sets a strict ceiling on residual mineral hydrocarbons in the cloth. Reputable mills can supply a hydrocarbon test report against it. If a bag is sold as food-grade, ask for that report, not just the VOT label.
What VOT bags are used for
VOT food-grade jute sacks are the standard for breathable, natural packing of:
- Green coffee beans (the 60 kg and 69 kg export standard)
- Cocoa beans
- Rice, wheat and cereals
- Peanuts, tree nuts and pulses
- Spices, cardamom and dried produce
- Onion, potato and other field crops
How to specify food-grade jute
When you order, state food-grade VOT, name the commodity, and ask for the IJO 98/01 hydrocarbon report. Confirm the weave (B-Twill, Binola), the size and the bag weight for your fill. We weave food-grade VOT sacking in our own mill and supply the test documentation with the shipment.