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Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

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Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#71

Post by adrian_b »

reaperducer wrote: post #56
gumby wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dishes marketed under the Pyrex name are no longer borosilicates. The brand name was sold off (and in fact the company that bought it was recently discussed in HN as they also bought Instant Pot, and have gone bankrupt).

Dishes marketed under the Pyrex name are no longer borosilicates. They're still glass (tempered soda–lime glass), which is what the OP was talking about, so you're just being needlessly pedantic without adding anything to the discussion. Also, Pyrex is still borosilicate in Europe, since soda-lime is hard to get there.

Tempered soda-lime glass is still preferable as a food-contact material to almost anything else, but it is much less pleasant to use than borosilicate glass, because it is much heavier and if you abuse it the tempered glass cracks relatively easily (e.g. if after boiling water in a tempered glass teapot you immerse it for cooling in cold water from the tap, the chances of cracking are high, while a borosilicate glass teapot is impervious to such a treatment; I know this from personal experience with both kinds of teapots).

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#72

Post by goda90 »

reaperducer wrote: post #52
nervousvarun wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm in the minority but we (and everyone else we seem to interact with) use pyrex.

The problem with modern Pyrex and similar glassware is that it usually comes with a plastic lid. I'm with you in that I only use glassware to store food. But it's a bit annoying to have to put a little plate on top of the Pyrex as a makeshift lid in the microwave. My wife has an extensive collection of vintage Pyrex with lids, but she doesn't trust they're microwave safe.

Remove the lid before heating.

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#74

Post by danielbln »

pmoriarty wrote: post #12

I've long ago stopped cooking or putting hot food in plastic containers.. not because of this but because of the possibility other harmful substances leeching from the plastic in to my food. Sure, there are some plastics labeled "for safe" and "BPA-free", but that doesn't guarantee some other plastic that's used doesn't contain harmful substances or cause as yet unknown side effects that just haven't been found by re…

As a daily Aeropress user, I wonder if I should maybe switch to something else. Thoughts?

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#76

Post by helpfulmandrill »

wheels wrote: post #62
andrewstuart wrote: post #21

Slightly off topic but I threw out all my pots and pans with non stick surfaces. Nothing will convince me it’s safe to cook food to high temperature on whatever that chemical coating is. And after a while you notice the surface is wearing away…. where is it going? Into you and your family. All my pots and pans are stainless steel.

Most folks that cook a lot don't use non-stick pans much anyway because they just don't last very long. I keep a couple around for eggs and pancakes, but that's it. The usual recommendation for skillets is carbon-steel and cast iron because the seasoning does provide some non-stick properties. I have the full gamut with carbon steel, cast iron, non-stick and stainless steel, and find myself mostly leaning on the carb…

I tried carbon steel but I couldn't get the seasoning right, and it flash rusted every time I washed it. Also, to someone used to non-stick or stainless steel, it often looks kind of dirty - its difficult to distinguish between "good but unattractive seasoning" and "you didn't wash your pan well enough".

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#77

Post by cubefox »

myshpa wrote: post #34

Microwaving aside, food and plastics don't go well together. Study Finds Microplastics in More than 90 Percent of Tested Water Bottles https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/study-finds-microp... Just opening a plastic bottle can release thousands of microplastics https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237900-just-opening-a-... Study: Plastic Baby Bottles Shed Microplastics When Heated. Should You Be Worried? https…

It's not just food of course.

A first overview of textile fibers, including microplastics, in indoor and outdoor environments

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02697...

A Review of Human Exposure to Microplastics and Insights Into Microplastics as Obesogens

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34484127/

International quantification of microplastics in indoor dust: prevalence, exposure and risk assessment

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35977640/

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#78

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

reaperducer wrote: post #52
nervousvarun wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm in the minority but we (and everyone else we seem to interact with) use pyrex.

The problem with modern Pyrex and similar glassware is that it usually comes with a plastic lid. I'm with you in that I only use glassware to store food. But it's a bit annoying to have to put a little plate on top of the Pyrex as a makeshift lid in the microwave. My wife has an extensive collection of vintage Pyrex with lids, but she doesn't trust they're microwave safe.

> but she doesn't trust they're microwave safe.

The glass or the printing? Mine have survived without issue.

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#79

Post by mrob »

Aachen wrote: post #70
mrob wrote: post #31

Converting the units to make comparison easier: Worst case ingested dose for toddlers: 22.1ng/kg·day Dose found to be toxic in vitro: 1,000,000,000ng/kg

Where did you get the 1g figure from? I'm curious to read more about the circumstances under which they found toxicity, e.g. if that's acute rather than sustained across decades. Also, what does in vitro mean here? Do I remember correctly this means you're not dead?! Seems like an odd bit of jargon to add

I'm assuming the solvent is water. You're right that it's not specified in the abstract. "In vitro" means "in glass", but the actual meaning is in any non-living container, no matter what it's made from, e.g. in a petri dish. If it's in a living organism it's "in vivo".

Re: Microwaved plastic containers release microplastics into food

#80

Post by yetihehe »

danielbln wrote: post #74
pmoriarty wrote: post #12

I've long ago stopped cooking or putting hot food in plastic containers.. not because of this but because of the possibility other harmful substances leeching from the plastic in to my food. Sure, there are some plastics labeled "for safe" and "BPA-free", but that doesn't guarantee some other plastic that's used doesn't contain harmful substances or cause as yet unknown side effects that just haven't been found by re…

As a daily Aeropress user, I wonder if I should maybe switch to something else. Thoughts?

As aeropress user for many years, I don't think there's noticeable amount of microplastics coming from it, paper filter would also help with filtering out ANY debris. But, now microplastics are even in air you breathe, coming from anyone using artifical fibers near you.
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