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Tue 2 Sep, 2003 07:23 am
Plastic and the Microwave
As a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that di(ethylhexyl)adepateDEHA), considered a carcinogen, is found in plastic wrap. She also learned that the FDA had never studied the effect of microwave cooking on plastic-wrapped food. Claire began to wonder: "Can cancer-causing particles seep into food covered with household plastic wrap while it is being microwaved?"
Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science teacher, Claire had an idea for studying the effect of microwave radiation on plastic-wrapped food, but she did not have the equipment.
Eventually, Jon Wilkes at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkan! sas, agreed to help her. The research center, which is affiliated with the FDA, let her use its facilities to perform her experiments, which involved microwaving plastic wrap in virgin olive oil Claire tested four different plastic wraps and "found not just the carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was migrating [into the oil]...." Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts in men and to breast cancer in women.
Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of trips each week to the research center, which was 25 miles from her home, to work on her experiment.
An article in Options reported that "her analysis found that DEHA was migrating into the oil at between 200 parts and 500 parts per million.
The FDA standard is 0.05 parts per billion."
Her summarized results have been published in science journals. Claire Nelson received the American Chemical Society's top science prize for students during her junior ! year and fourth place at the International Science and Engineering Fai r (Fort Worth, Texas) as a senior.
"Carcinogens-At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" Options May 2000. Published by People Against Cancer, 515-972-4444
On Channel 2 (Huntsville, AL) this morning they had a Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the Microwave using plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies.
Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant raimin and soups,
etc., should be removed from the! container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware,etc.
He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food! Use a paper towel!!
You might want to pass this on to your friends....I just did!!
Indeed. In fact, I recall a Friend of the earth friend counselling against using plastic with any food or drink, way back in the seventies.
Recently, a friend has had a breast tumour removed. Her surgeon and oncologist both warned her never to store food or drink in plastic - especially if it warm - they both said recent research is showing this as a real risk factor.
I haven't used plastic wrap next to any food that has any animal products in it since about 1977 or 1978. I'll put wax paper on, and then put plastic around that - we were taught this was a good work around.
I was always amazed that some people continued to put plastic next to their food for so many years after the research first came ot.
It was unpolymerized vinyl chloride that my FOE friend was concerned about - it seems there is a whole cocktail to worry about now?
Oooooh, no! This is a way of life.
So, is it still a risk to store food in plastic or is it just a risk to microwave in it?
In an effort to save time on recycling day, I have quit taking the plastic milk cartons to the curb and instead have been placing them in the microwave oven where I melt them into a liquid state and then add the molten mess to my coffee. Sounds like maybe this is a bad idea?
I would not consider storing any food with any animal product in it, in any kind of plastic. So - no butter, cheese, meat, eggs ... or anything made with any of those ingredients.
I'm always looking for old corningware/pyrex/fire king at Goodwill. As much as possible, I store in glass. If I've run out of glass, I line the plastic with wax paper - or simply wrap things in wax paper, then plastic wrap (and then foil if it's going in the freezer).
Yep - I am picking up glass/pyrex stuff, too.
hmmmmm, do we discourage Gustav? no. his ego is fragile and we must continue to encourage him.
Gus! Gus! You're doing just fine. Excellent plan to keep the dump clean. Excellent. Keep on with your fine efforts.
Thanks Beth. I'll be doing that from now on. I've never had the habit of microwaving in plastic because it rubbed me the wrong way, but I never thought storing food in it would be a problem.
Gus
LOL! No, I guess that's a pretty bad idea ;-)
I will have to say that Beth is indeed the "Queen of the Font."
One good thing is that we have plenty of glass to pick from at our many yard sales up this way :-D
Gus
You can have all my plastic after I stock up on glass Buddy ;-)
sigh, doesn't surprise me.
Yep: glass for everything whenever feasible.
Snopes calls this one "undetermined":
Quote:This gist of this latter addition is true in that a student named Claire Nelson did perform the experiment described for a school science fair project back in 1997 (she came up with the idea for the project while she was in seventh grade, but as noted, she didn't actually conduct the experiment until three years later) by working with an FDA-affiliated laboratory. Like the Fujimoto piece, however, the claims made in this version tend towards the alarmist: the results of the experiment described tended to indicate that diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA) and xenoestrogens could migrate from plastic wraps into microwaved food (specifically olive oil, the "food" used in the experiment), but only with some brands of plastic wrap (primarily ones not sold as "microwave-safe") and only when the plastic wrap was in direct contact with the food being heated; moreover, no research has yet demonstrated that DEHA poses a significant cancer risk to humans at the levels noted here (even though they exceed FDA standards) or that xenoestrogens are a direct cause of breast cancer in women or reduced sperm counts in men.
http://www.snopes.com/toxins/plastic.htm
Still use glass most all of the time, but FYI.
I was convinced that plastic on food was a bad idea through science courses in uni in 76/77. I still think it's a bad idea.
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