Microwave containers leaching toxins into food at alarming rates

Wednesday, November 09, 2011 by: S. D. Wells
Tags: microwaveable containers, plastics, health news

(NaturalNews) Microwaving food inside containers made of plastic, cellophane, cardboard and styrofoam may leach toxins into the food and increases the levels of carcinogens being consumed. Since most containers do not visibly melt or get hot, consumers have the false notion that the synthetic boxes and wrappers are not releasing toxins, but new research shows they are, and at levels that are alarming.

Consumers are guaranteeing a triple dose of poison when they buy processed food (which contains synthetic ingredients), "nuke" them in a microwave, and then consume the radiated chemicals and vapors from the packaging.

The FDA claims that if it's labeled microwave safe, then it's fine, but there are several major gray areas being exploited. The FDA also says that microwave-safe plastic wrap should never directly touch the food. The labels on many plastic wraps recommend a one inch space between the plastic and the food, but it's all locked in the oven with your food anyway.

For starters, chemical migration from packaging material to a food does not require direct contact. Excessive heat applied to the container drives off the chemical gases from the container. It is now proven that chemicals like BPA, Bisphenol-A, seep out of the container and affect humans, causing hormonal imbalances, lowered sperm count, and various other forms of cancer.

Watch out for rubber lids and their containers. Also put on the caution list freezer bags which can emit phthalates and BPA. The amount of toxins released from the synthetic depends on how long you freeze or cook them for, and also the strength of each particular microwave oven.

Meat trays, foam containers, coated cardboard, and most soup and noodle cups top the danger list. It is very common to cover a plate of food with Saran wrap. These "methods" are not safe at all.

The FDA claims that leached substances pose no threat to a person's health. They say to use containers and materials that are specifically labeled as microwave-safe, but not to microwave margarine tubs and carryout containers from restaurants.

That brings us to research the difference between margarine tubs and all other plastic containers. Some plastics marked with recycle codes 3 or 7 can actually be made with BPA. Yogurt, butter, margarine, cottage cheese, sour cream, and many more similar foods are all sold in plastic containers, many of which are made from Polypropylene (plastic # 5), one of the least-recyclable plastics. Most city recycling centers won't even accept it!

How can the FDA allow toxic chemicals in food containers that are not recyclable? Understanding this is important to realizing the true betrayal we face with the FDA. In other words, it is not acceptable to incur the expense of sorting, collecting, cleaning and reprocessing containers, but it is acceptable that we treat millions of Americans with chemotherapy after "eating" cancer.

Radiation is the result of nuclear decay. In simplest terms, a microwave oven decays the molecular structure of the food and packaging by using radiation. Had the manufacturers named them radiation ovens, it's very doubtful they would be popular today.

Solution: Get rid of the microwave oven right now, and just deal with cleaning your own safe pot or stainless steel pan. Then drastically reduce your use of plastic. Look for natural alternatives like textiles, solid wood, bamboo, and glass.

Sources for this article include:

http://environment.about.com/od/reducingwast...

http://www.riversideonline.com/health_refere...

http://healthychild.org/5steps/5_steps_5/?gc...

http://curezone.com/foods/microwave_oven_ris...

http://www.comfortncolor.com/HTML/PoisoningP...

http://www.chasinggreen.org/article/re-using...

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-revi...

http://www.plasticsinfo.org/babybottles/inde...

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftsep04.htm