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Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

theguardian.com

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Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#51

Post by CodeWriter23 »

Steve44 wrote: post #41

This only seems to be a correlation between people reporting having eaten out and the test levels. I can't see why restaurant food would be that much different to home cooked food unless there was something very wrong with the supply chain or kitchen practices. The newspaper article does not mention if they have looked at following the source of these phthalates back up the chain to see where they actually come from.

Might I suggest actually reading the article where they suggest the culprit is the phthalate-containing plastic containers commonly used in fast food.

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#52

Post by vikascoder »

Steve44 wrote: post #41

This only seems to be a correlation between people reporting having eaten out and the test levels. I can't see why restaurant food would be that much different to home cooked food unless there was something very wrong with the supply chain or kitchen practices. The newspaper article does not mention if they have looked at following the source of these phthalates back up the chain to see where they actually come from.

Whaaat? Restaurant food can be very different than home cooked food because restaurants apply tricks to dress up a dish in ways you will never do at home. Excessive corn starch in Asian soups, humongous amount of butter in every meal, higher amounts of salt, using old and dangerously suspect stored food to cook with, using substandard cuts of meat, stale sea food, using colors to boost the appearance of freshness ( use packaged tomato puree plus color instead of doing old fashioned tomato way at home), general hygiene issues in kitchen etc etc. Restaurant kitchen delivery system is drastically different than a home kitchen.

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#54

Post by xutopia »

Everybody here has an idea of why this occurs and they all mention packaging. Did you see inside a McDonalds kitchen? They use plastic trays to cook and hold foods instead of stainless steel we would see in high end restaurants.

I am certain that food grade plastics leak into food at high heat when oils and other food compounds are present.

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#55

Post by pmoriarty »

vorpalhex wrote: post #29
forgotmypw wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm including both corporate chains like TGIF and Chipotle, in addition to: * that sushi restaurant in the strip mall, that serves you rice cooked with fluoride water and soy sauce with sodium beonzoate * that "gourmet" deli that serves you sodium nitrate-laden on top of pesticide- and preservative-laden bread with a yellow #5 pickle. * that coffee shop that pours a hot beverage at 140F/60C into a plastic-lined, plas…

> fluoride water So... tap water? Most countries add flouride to their tap water because it improves dental health. Unless you're a redneck screaming about alien mind control, that isn't some crazy scary chemical compound. > soy sauce with sodium beonzoate *Sodium Benzoate Again, perfectly boring salt that reduces pH. Not some scary mind control substance, just a salt you can produce at home. > sodium nitrate-laden E…

> > sodium nitrate-laden

> Every preserved meat in the world. Also found naturally in Chile.

Just because it's common or "natural" doesn't mean it's not bad for you. There are legitimate health concerns about nitrate use in foods.[1][2]

>> heats up frozen soup in a plastic bag

> Again, most plastics are rated for this. Also helps cut down on glass shards in your food, or badly sanitized cookware giving you the runs.

How do you know which plastics are being used by the restaurants you eat at? And what does "being rated" for heating actually mean? Does it mean that no plastic or other chemicals from the bag actually gets in to the food? As a consumer I have no way of knowing.

> I'd tell you to stock up on tinfoil for those hats, but I heard that causes alzheimer's.

This sort of snark is really not welcome on HN. Please try to be civil.

[1] - https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/01/bacon-cancer-pr...

[2] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16510960

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#56

Post by marak830 »

sametmax wrote: post #46
marak830 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my experience, it is pretty much down to how much you're willing to pay. When I was younger and worked in lower quality places, a lot would be purchased through a supplier (although very rare to see premade items purchased), where as now (I work at a fine dining establishment), the current head chef indeed goes to the farmers market once a month - he will go through their produce, and select which items he will…

Semantics. Restaurant are places where you eat. For most people, restaurants don't have star. In France, they mostly buy their stuff at Metro. That's why I pay more and more money to go to very good restaurant. But I care deeply about food, I love it, I cook, and I have money. That's not the usual situation.

I agree it is semantics, but it shouldn't be in my opinion.

While it will never happen, I would prefer to call yourself a restaurant you would need to prove that you had hired qualified chefs and that you were producing all the for you sell.

It's a major gripe of the industry that people like me do the work to create real quality food, and then get lumped in with places that use premade crap.

I should probably stop my rant now, I could go on for a while haha.

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#57

Post by [deleted] »

xutopia wrote: post #54

Everybody here has an idea of why this occurs and they all mention packaging. Did you see inside a McDonalds kitchen? They use plastic trays to cook and hold foods instead of stainless steel we would see in high end restaurants. I am certain that food grade plastics leak into food at high heat when oils and other food compounds are present.

[deleted]

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#58

Post by nicoburns »

sametmax wrote: post #43
Steve44 wrote: post #41

This only seems to be a correlation between people reporting having eaten out and the test levels. I can't see why restaurant food would be that much different to home cooked food unless there was something very wrong with the supply chain or kitchen practices. The newspaper article does not mention if they have looked at following the source of these phthalates back up the chain to see where they actually come from.

My theory is that most affordables restaurant don't make food anymore, they assemble it. So it comes from multiple packages. Add the fact there is a lot of take away / doggy bags, which means repackaging the finished product, and stronger hygiene regulation, which mean detergent used in contact with the food, and you have more opportunities for phthalates to come by. While at home, you may very well cook it from more…

I think this may be US-specific. In the UK, there are certainly chains that 'assemble' food, but there are also a whole bunch of similarly priced chains amd independent resturants that cook fresh food. It's not michelin star quality, but it's fresh. In general I think resturaunts tend to add more seasoning (such as salt, sugar, etc) than most people cooking at home would.

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#59

Post by curun1r »

nicoburns wrote: post #58
sametmax wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My theory is that most affordables restaurant don't make food anymore, they assemble it. So it comes from multiple packages. Add the fact there is a lot of take away / doggy bags, which means repackaging the finished product, and stronger hygiene regulation, which mean detergent used in contact with the food, and you have more opportunities for phthalates to come by. While at home, you may very well cook it from more…

I think this may be US-specific. In the UK, there are certainly chains that 'assemble' food, but there are also a whole bunch of similarly priced chains amd independent resturants that cook fresh food. It's not michelin star quality, but it's fresh. In general I think resturaunts tend to add more seasoning (such as salt, sugar, etc) than most people cooking at home would.

I wouldn't be too sure it's just the US...there was a somewhat-recent controversy in France: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/french-restauran...

Re: Eating out increases levels of phthalates in the body, study finds

#60

Post by djyaz1200 »

It's the receipts, they are printed on paper that has these chemicals and handed to people right before they eat. As a test try not to touch the recipe when they attempt to hand it to you and get ready to be just about assaulted by the clerks as they try to force you to take it.

https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i35/Touching-thermal-paper-r...

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