Is It Safe to Store Food in Plastic Containers?

CEBU, Philippines —  When you put the leftover lasagna into the refrigerator last night, you probably grabbed Tupperware from one of your cabinets. The soft drink cup you got at the drive through is plastic. So is the water bottle on your desk.

Plastic is everywhere. But are you risking your health by using these common containers? Plastic containers release small chemicals into stored foods and liquids. Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical commonly used to make clear, tough plastic bottles and food can liners, can leach or migrate from baby bottles and waters bottles into the liquid and then enter the bloodstream.

This chemical migration may be unavoidable. Whenever you use any kind of plastic food container, tiny amounts of plastic are transferred into the food. The amounts are very small, but there is still a lot of debate in the scientific community about whether these trace amounts are problematic.

The federal Food and Drug Administration, which regulates plastic packaging chemicals like BPA, recently announced that its safety review shows BPA is safe at current levels in food.Some US states, on the other hand, intends to add BPA to the state list of harmful chemicals, based on findings that BPA can cause reproductive health problems in laboratory animals.

The controversy over BPA in plastic bottles is not over, and there is no consensus as to whether it is safe or not as currently used. If you want to avoid exposure to plastic packaging chemicals, do some research.  Many containers have markings that tell you which chemicals it was made with.

If you want to stay away from BPA, avoid containers with the number 7 or the letters PC on them. That means they were made with polycarbonate.

If a container has a number 3 or the letters PVC, it contains polyvinyl chloride, part of a class of chemicals called phthalates. Researchers believe phthalates may leach from plastic containers into our food, like BPA does. Although there is no consensus on how or how much leaching occurs, people who want to avoid phthalates should not store food in a container with a ‘3’ or the letters ‘PVC’ on it.

If it has a number 1, it’s a single use container. In that case, use it once and then recycle it or throw it away.

With food that such as roast chicken that comes in its own carry-out container, remove food from takeout containers and store it in your own BPA-free or polycarbonate-free containers. Regardless of the type of container they come in, don’t leave your leftovers on the counter for too long. Leaving food out at an unsafe temperature is one of the main causes of foodborne illness. Cooked food should never be left at room temperature for more than an hour or two, because it will quickly grow bacteria.

It’s best to wrap up food up airtight or seal it in an airtight container. This helps keep bacteria out. Then put it in the refrigerator. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for as long as three to four days.

(www.stjhs.org)