In the early 2000’s the European Parliament finally caught up with SCAQMD guidelines and banned the use of kerosene lighter fluid for the igniting of charcoal / briquettes. This unprecedented move followed from reports of a growing number of incidents around the accidental misuse of Lighter fluid, some of which proved fatal.

They established a Standard labeled EN 1860-30 for consumer ignition products. This innovation necessitated the use of a much higher grade of hydrocarbon fuel that had a higher flash point and with less impurities which made for a safer and cleaner Low-VOC product with which to ignite the charcoal / briquettes.

At the same time there was a growing trend using wooden firestarters, produced initially with paraffin fuel with a high flash point. This was followed with the introduction of a 100% all natural wooden firestarter with the use of non-GMO vegetable wax.

So how surprised was I researching the North American market prior to setting up A+A and moving to Canada to discover how popular the use of liquid lighting fluid still was nationwide – despite industry leading SCAQMD & the California Air Resource Board setting the standards. And this while  the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission was recording significant growth in serious accidents – Nearly $11K  people were reported treated for injuries related to lighter fluid accidents in the US during a five-year period ending in December 2008.

The majority of the accidents: Flashback – which occurs when the fluid is misused, squirted from its container onto coals that have already begun to burn in an effort to hasten the grilling process.

The A+A mission is to advance safer alternatives with which to ignite consumer’s charcoal / briquettes with no risk of flashback, and that cannot be swallowed or inhaled, and will not adversely impact in any way, the taste of the food cooking on the grill. This has been an advantageous innovation in improving the cooking experiences of the grilling enthusiasts of North America.

Have we mentioned that it is also kinder to the Planet!