In my work, I rely on plastic containers to store my food and get it from point A to point B without breaking and causing a mess. Recently, I have been researching information regarding plastic containers. My clients are important to me, especially their health and safety. I want to make sure that I am not delivering a healthy meal to them in a container that could possibly be harmful.
From the containers used to store food to baby toys and bottles, dangerous chemicals could be lurking in the places you least expect them. While the Food and Drug Administration says there is no danger, I have found that researchers think differently.
The concern comes from a chemical in plastic called Bisphenol A, or BPA, which is an important product used in the production of polycarbonate. There have been concerns that BPA is hazardous to humans since the 1930s, but it was only recently when its safety was called into question again.
To determine how much BPA is in a container, just check the bottom of plastic containers. The number in the middle of the recycling symbol is a guide. It is said that the numbers three, six, and seven are to be avoided; these are the containers that have the highest presence of BPA in them.
At home, plastic containers that are old and worn are more likely to expose your food to BPA. Some say that it is fine to store fruit or salad in a plastic container, because the chemicals in plastic are more likely to leech into acidic or fatty products, like tomato sauce, creamy sauces, lunch meat, or even cheese. Another concern at home is heat and plastic. The two are a bad combination. Not only is the heat from a microwave a concern, but also the heat from the dishwasher. In the dishwasher, the heat and detergent break down, and when it does some of the plastics break down too. The best advice is to just hand wash them.
So I have decided to use glass containers when at all possible. Glass and stainless steel containers are less dangerous and also better for the environment because they can be reused, whereas plastic containers usually end up in a landfill.
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