[header] How to identify food grade buckets [title] Check the recycling symbol on the bottom of the bucket. [step] The quickest and most reliable way to check for food safety is by consulting the recycling number. This number will be between 1 and 7 and will be stamped inside a triangle of arrows. 
As a general rule, the numbers that are safe for use with food are 1 , 2 , 4, and 5. [substeps] The best type of plastic for use in long-term food storage is high-density polyethylene (hdpe), which is indicated by the " 2 " symbol.