Are Plastic Food Containers Safe For Your Family’s Health? Here's What You Should Know
Have you used a plastic food container or water bottle today? Plastics that contain PBA are controversial because they have been linked to health problems. Here's how to limit your family's exposure
Think about how much plastic is in your fridge. We may not be using so many plastic straws nowadays but there is still plastic in milk cartons, juice bottles, hawker food containers... almost everything comes in plastic. And it’s easy to see why. This strong, light, mouldable material keeps food clean and it's easy to transport. But plastic comes at a cost. There’s the environmental cost of single-use plastic, overflowing landfill sites, and floating plastic rubbish in the ocean.
There are also health concerns about some plastics because chemicals can leak from plastics into food. Bisphenol A or BPA is one of a group of chemicals called bisphenols.
Bisphenols are used to make bendy plastics like cling film, and epoxy resins - this is the type of plastic that's used to line food cans and prevent metal corrosion. This means you will find BPA inside many cans used to hold food and drink - it's in everything from soup cans to cans of tuna and coconut cream. It’s also used to line cans of soft drinks and you also find it in some takeaway containers and disposable styrofoam coffee cups.
So why is this a problem for your family - and what can you do to avoid it anyway?
In general, heat makes small molecules migrate more easily. So if you are microwaving food, put the food into ceramic or glass containers first. If you are using clingfilm to cover food, make sure the clingfilm is at least 2cm away from the surface of the food.
In the past, plastic wraps were treated with special chemical compounds called “plasticizers” to make them stretchy and clingy. These plasticizers are fat-soluble so they’re more likely to move into food if it’s warm and contains fat or protein.
Modern cling films are made with polyethylene, which does not need plasticizers. The good news is that there's currently no evidence to show the new-style plastic wraps leach harmful compounds into food, but keeping the wrap off the food surface removes any risk. In the fridge, you can use reusable waxed covers instead of clingfilm. In the microwave, you can use baking parchment paper.
On the bottom of plastic containers, you’ll find a recycling code - numbers 1 to 7. Avoid numbers 3, 6 and 7 for food use. Number 3 contains Phthalates or plasticizers, which are controversial.
Number 6 is polystyrene, which is still widely used for hawker food containers. Unfortunately, some studies have linked it to possible carcinogens. Before we all panic, it has to be said that the United States Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the safety of food-contact packaging, has approved the use of polystyrene since 1958. So have many governments around the world.
In Singapore, polystyrene foam, better known as styrofoam, is widely used for hawker foods. The government has not banned polystyrene clamshell boxes, mainly because of cost and inconvenience to hawkers and consumers. Other types of disposable ware, such as coated paper boxes, cost two to three times more than clamshell polystyrene foam packaging.
But hawkers here are discouraged from using disposable plates, bowls and utensils made of polystyrene foam. This is not so much for health reasons, but because its non-biodegradable and environmentally unfriendly. Instead, they are encouraged to sell food in reusable containers.
So if you love hawker food, it is hard to avoid polystyrene in Singapore. You can stick to old-school places that still use banana leaf wrapping and some hawkers will let you takeaway in an enamel tingkat container if you bring it along and ask nicely. Others will pack your food in cardboard boxes… but there’s plenty of room for improvement here.
Apart from being a source of pollution, single-use polycarbonate plastics such as soft-drink bottles may contain PBA. And if you leave your plastic water bottle in the car or bag and it heats up in the sun, this can encourage the migration of PBA into your drinking water. You can look for plastic drinking bottles labeled PBA-free - or use re-usable glass or metal water bottles for water on the go.
Fruit and vegetables are generally sold loose at the wet market. You can also buy produce loose at some supermarkets and organic farms will deliver your vegetables in cardboard boxes. ShiokFarm sources organic veggies from Southeast Asia as much as possible and deliveries are plastic-free. TADA Fresh Market delivers over 2,000 grocery items from local wet markets like Tekka, Tiong Bahru, Pasar 216 Bedok Central and Chinatown, including hard-to-find herbs and local veggies like Drumstick Leaves, Buah Keluak and Tumeric Leaves. They aim to be plastic-free as much as possible.
Bauer Syndication /Are Media. Additional reporting by Tara Barker.