How PETs Can Harm Us?

SOMETHING SMELLS

Negros Daily Bulletin

Tina M. Monfort

Much of our food and drink comes in contact with plastic everyday, but not all plastics are safe! While plastic food wraps and containers can be important in protecting our food, recent studies show that when certain plastics come into contact with food, some questionable chemicals migrate from the packaging to the food. This article will provide an outline on the different plastic containers, how some of their chemicals harm us and tips on what to use as alternatives. But first, let us review our Resin Identification Code: 

Code #1 - PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) 

Typical Product Application: Soft drink bottles, medicine containers. 

Code #2 - HDPE (high density polyethylene) 

Typical Product Application: Toys, bottles for milk, water, detergent, shampoo, motor oil. 

Code #3 - PVC (polyvinyl chloride) 

Typical Product Application: Cooking oil, shampoo & detergent bottles, pipe & tubing, meat wrap. 

Code #4 - LDPE (low density polyethylene) 

Typical Product Application: Soft, flexible plastic as used in garbage bags, wrapping films, grocery bags. 

Code #5 - PP (polypropylene) 

Typical Product Application: Hard, but flexible. Used in ice-cream & yogurt containers, potato crisp bags, drinking straws, syrup bottles, diapers. 

Code #6 - PS (polystyrene) 

Typical Product Application: Rigid, brittle plastic. Coffee cups, take-out food containers, meat trays, plastic cutlery. 

Code #7 - Other (including polycarbonate, nylon and acrylic) 

Typical Product Application: Baby bottles 

Getting to know the culprits: Dioxins, Phthalates, Bisphenol A and Antimony - Dioxins are highly poisonous even at low doses and are produced when plastics are manufactured and incinerated. Phthalates are “plasticizers” linked to a variety of birth defects and is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses and food bought from shops are wrapped in PVC. The “plasticizers” are used in the manufacture of #3 PVC plastic to soften it into its flexible form. Traces of these chemicals, known as adipates and phthalates, can leak out of PVC when it comes in contact with food. Phthalates are also widely used in cosmetics and beauty products, including nail polish. Many #7 Polycarbonate bottles are made with Bisphenol A (BPA). It is the chemical used to make hard, clear plastics such as those found in baby bottles, food-storage containers and the lining of soft drink cans. BPA is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resins and various other plastics. Chemical bonds that BPA forms in plastic can unravel when heated, washed or exposed to acidic food, or as the container ages generally. This creates chemical contamination of the food or drink. Many studies have evaluated BPA as a hormone disruptor, a chemical that alters the body’s normal hormonal activity. #1 PETE plastic water bottles have been shown to leach antimony into water. It is important to remember that leaving water in any plastic bottle for a prolonged period of time allows for chemical leaching to occur. 

Here are tips for Reducing Your Toxic Plastic Exposure: 

1) Store your food and water in glass or stainless steel if at all possible. 

2) If you can’t use glass, use any of the “safe” plastic jars. #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE, and #5 PP. Most research has not shown leaching of any carcinogens or endocrine disruptors from these plastics. 

3) If you use a #1 PETE container (which is a commonly recycled type), remember they are not usually designed for re-use. Extended use will increase risk of leaching. 

4). NEVER use Styrofoam cups, especially for hot drinks. Polystyrene, #6 PS, is usually found in foam containers and cups may leach styrene. Styrene, is considered a possible human carcinogen, which disrupts hormones or affect reproduction. If you use baby bottles, know that around 95% of all baby bottles are currently made of polycarbonate #7. Switch to polycarbonate-free baby bottles, like those manufactured from glass or from #5 PP, or consider using glass bottles when ever practical. And don’t microwave your baby’s plastic bottles ! 

5) Avoid heating food in plastic containers. 

6) Avoid storing fatty food, such as meat and cheese, in plastic containers or plastic wrap. 

7) Avoid plastic cutlery and dinnerware, especially when cooking or heating food. 

8) Use wood instead of plastic cutting boards and spray your wooden board with a mist of vinegar, then with a mix of hydrogen 

peroxide, to kill bacteria. 

9) When purchasing cling-wrapped food from the supermarket or deli, slice off a thin layer where the food came into contact with the plastic and store the rest in a glass or ceramic container, or non-PVC cling wrap. 

10) INVEST in a good quality, non-plastic, reusable water bottle (eg: such as a SIGG bottle. These are aluminum with an inert water based internal lining). Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. 

Yes, plastics...the “miracle” of modern science. For without plastics...there are a whole bunch of things we wouldn’t have. Personally, It’s quite impossible to imagine how we can manage without these PET containers. So again allow me to give you a very brief summary of the Do’s and Don’ts, less the technicality this time. 

1) Use stainless steel, both inside and out, with no epoxy finish- this is your safest alternative.

2) Glass bottles are safe although fragile.

3) Use plastics #2, 4 & 5 safely. Use #1 sparingly or if possible, do not re-use at all and stop re-using other plastic bottles once they appear worn and/or discolored. Bottles leach more with age. 

4) Avoid subjecting plastics to high temperatures, which increases leaching.