Trying to buy Citric Acid ...

italiastar

In true moneysaving, I tried to buy some Citric Acid this afternoon to de-scale my kettle - I (used) to find it far cheaper than the expensive sachets containing the same stuff (3 sachets for £5 in Whittards). I went into a major high street chain whoes name is the same as a type of footware and was told they they no longer sold it as it could be used for bombmaking :eek: - she suggested I tried a healthfood shop - I guess terrorists don't eat heathly!

Not wishing to make light of a serious subject, does this mean that we can no longer buy weedkiller or chappatti flour?

Not deterred by this, I tried another high street chemist - this time they wouldn't sell it is case I used it to mixed with illegal drugs :eek: :eek:

What annoys me, is that it is easier to buy drugs (i'm offered them daily) than citric acid.

Has anyone else come accross this or is this another scam to force us to spend more money on branded products.

moonflower_2

I can give you some advice about citric acid ,however I take no responsibilty about its use.
It can be obtained from wine making shops. I hope that you will use it safely and with care.

_Kate__2

I got mine over the counter at the chemist in Tesco...he did ask what it was for...can understand now :rolleyes:

Zziggi

Try a local Asian/Indian shop for powdered citric acid. You can get bags of it very very cheap. I was looking at some only today at about 60p for a bag (can't remember the weight).

P.S. you can also get your chappati flour there.

If it really were to stop muslim extremists from getting hold of bomb making ingrediants then i wouldn't have been able to buy it from a local halal (muslim) shop!

Mrs_B_12

I think the person who told you about the bomb making is a complete idiot. That chain of chemist shops has phased out basic stuff like citric acid over the past few years because it's cheap and doesn't make them much money.

italiastar

Mrs_B wrote: »

I think the person who told you about the bomb making is a complete idiot. That chain of chemist shops has phased out basic stuff like citric acid over the past few years because it's cheap and doesn't make them much money.

Thank you very much - the most likely explaination - the same reason why they phased out child safe bottles of Paracetemol etc for unsafe (for children) packaging in small quantities - the excuse being that people were buying bottles of Paracetemol to commit suicide - what rubbish - if your that determined you just visit a few more retailers.

trisontana

I thought citric acid is used to "dilute" drugs such as cocaine. Perhaps that is why some outlets restrict the sale of it.

rygon

Why would they ban something that less harmful to health than coke if its going to be used to cut it up with. Its like stopping ppl buying coke incase they want to dillute their vodka

Fruitcake

ts_aly2000 wrote: »

You can't even walk over a massive suspension bridge (which has a path) without attracting the attention of someone thinking that you obviously want to jump off of it.

What, are you mad? Don't you have a car like normal people? You can't walk in case you trip over a manhole cover and take the council to court. You might have pocketfulls of natural substances like lemon juice full of citric acid that you could put on a pancake and throw at someone. I mean, really, what ever is the matter with you?

Fruitcake

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

Madjock

why not buy some Oust from Wilkos instead of looking in Whittards?

hollydays

Heroin addicts use citric acid to mix with heroin and water to make the solution dissolve so they can heat it up and inject(oops no offence intended to the OP!)I think stores,in recent years have seen that 99% percent of people who said they wanted it for "winemaking",clearly looked like hard drug users and didnt want to be seen aiding them with their habit.(which i think technically is an offence).It hasnt been banned,i dont think.Plus,they are not the kind of customer you want to encourage to come into your shop.