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There are many products on the market that are advertised as food containers that can be used in the microwave. However, according to experts, for microwave ovens, it is best to use glass, crockery, and porcelain dishes to heat or defrost food.

There are many products on the market that are advertised as food containers that can be used in the microwave. However, according to experts, it is best to choose to buy plastic items that have clarity, bright colors, and product surfaces that are not rough, scratched, etc. As for the microwave oven, it is best to use glass dishes. glass, crockery, and porcelain to reheat or defrost food.

Any kind is available

At supermarket chains such as Co-opmax, BigC… in Ho Chi Minh City, buyers are free to choose plastic food containers from the disposable type and then remove the advertisement as raw materials from 100% PP, standard grade. The US FDA uses it in an environment from -10oC to +120oC, keeps fruit fresh for 7 days… and the selling price is just over 30,000 VND/10 boxes, the highest is 60,000 VND/box like Microban 2700ml box, imported goods in Vietnam. Thailand.

In addition, there are also Ag + antibacterial plastic boxes, plastic boxes made from PP plastic materials combined with microban antibacterial agents that have the effect of disrupting the cell structure of bacteria, making bacteria unable to grow..

The majority of plastic food containers sold in temporary markets and sidewalks are often unlabelled and the price is also many times cheaper. Many types of boxes are said by the owner to be bought from Cho Lon and collectively known as “normal plastic”, priced at only 1,500 – 6,000 VND/box with lid, can contain salt, monosodium glutamate and also use pickle salt, coffee …

Ms. Nguyen Mong Hieu, who lives in Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City, uses plastic containers to store food in the freezer, in the cooler, and even for ready-to-eat fruit after a meal, just bring it out for dessert. She uses the thin type to store in the freezer, if it’s broken or damaged, it’s removed, and if it’s thick or branded on the market, it’s stored in the fridge, storing food right away.

It is difficult to avoid poisoning when used at high temperatures

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Son Lam, a senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Materials Science, Ho Chi Minh City, when used to make packaging and containers at high temperatures (holding water, milk, hot food), the ability of Additives in the plastic will stop being absorbed into the food. There is plastic that can withstand high temperatures from 150-200oC, but it is necessary to know its exact origin and quality. Because plastic that withstands high temperatures, manufacturers will have to mix a few more additives, so in the long run, the possibility of poisoning is inevitable.

Dr. Dang Chi Hien, head of the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Chemical Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, said that PP (PolyPropylene) plastic is non-toxic with flexible features suitable for manufacturing food containers. But if PP is recycled from garbage, it is imperative to use additives for plastic materials to shape the new shape. These additives, when exposed to hot food from 70 to 80oC, will create toxic substances that are very dangerous to human health.

There are products on the market that are introduced as heat-resistant plastic, which can be used to store food cooked in the microwave. This type of plastic does not catch the microwave waves (so it does not melt when cooking), but the food inside catches this wave, heats up and cooks. The temperature of the food will affect the plastic product, causing the plastic structure to change and as a result, the poison can be released into the food.

Choose safe products

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Cuu Khoa, director of the Institute of Chemical Technology, warned that consumers still carelessly use plastic bags and boxes to store rice, soup and hot foods. They may contain a very toxic substance that affects the male sex organs, which is DOP (dioctin phthalate). DOP exists at a rate of 5-10% in the plasticizers used. It acts like a female hormone, so it is very harmful to men and boys when the sexual organs are not yet complete. It is best to choose to buy plastic products with high transparency, high gloss, bright colors, and the product’s surface is not rough or scratched.

Dr. Dang Chi Hien affirmed that the “microwave-safe” and “microwavable” symbol or label on plastic containers only means that they will not melt, crack or separate when spin in the microwave. It is best to use glass, crockery, or porcelain dishes to reheat or defrost food in the microwave.

Currently, plastic straws have become familiar items associated with different drinks such as milk tea, smoothies, soft drinks…

Handy plastic items: Disposable, harmful for a lifetime
Are straws with all kinds of colors in nutritious drinks safe for consumers’ health?

According to Associate Professor Tran Hong Con, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Natural Sciences (Hanoi National University), the additives put into the production of plastic straws contain thousands of substances. If the manufacturer uses the correct food coloring, there should be no problem.

People are careful when using plastic straws

But if using banned colorants or fluorescent agents, there is a possibility of cancer, but in fact the amount of that substance is extremely low and the potential for poisoning is very low. With the current floating plastic straws on the market, the price is very cheap, but the origin of the materials and production technology is guaranteed or not, it is worth mentioning.

Because no agency currently controls the quality of this product. The cheapest plastic pipes that are still profitable are often made from recycled materials. If these types of plastic have infections, bacteria, through the processing process, they have been calcined above 200 degrees, then germs and bacteria will no longer exist. But with biocides and antibiotics or some substances that can persist at high temperatures, there is still a risk of bacterial infection. Therefore, most recycled plastics are not allowed for use in food and medicine.

Associate Professor Hong Con added that although using plastic straws of unknown origin will be high risk, the possibility of poisoning is extremely low. However, if children pull out plastic straws to play, chew or we abuse all day (even hot water uses plastic straws), then that regular use is likely to have toxic content. Just let it out, absorb into the body when it exceeds the allowable threshold.

Clinical trials have shown that colored straws often contain Azo dyes, heavy metals and fluorescent agents, which are banned from use because of the risk of cancer.

Therefore, experts recommend that consumers use colorless straws. When choosing straws, we should choose products with labels; The seal of the package contains all necessary information such as plastic composition, production facility, food safety and hygiene quality.

Perhaps because they are so used to using single-use plastic, most users do not question or care about the quality of this product.

At Hom market, Dong Xuan market and some other markets in Hanoi, disposable plastic items are sold widely with many different designs. These products are quite cheap: lunch boxes, food are priced at 25,000 – 30,000 VND/100 units; spoons, cups and plates cost from 200-300 VND/piece, plastic straws cost 2,000-3,000 VND/bag of 50 pieces.

However, apart from the seller’s introduction, most of these products have no information about the address of the manufacturer, product quality, expiry date, instructions on how to use it safely…

According to a survey by PV, on average, a popular restaurant can consume hundreds of plastic rice boxes with spoons and straws every day. The owners of these rice stalls said that disposable products are not only convenient but also save on hiring labor to clean and wash. Besides, preserving them is not complicated, just buying and using it is very convenient.

In addition, to save costs, many stores still reuse these products many times, seriously affecting the health of users.

Talking about the reuse of single-use plastic, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh (Former lecturer at Institute of Food and Biotechnology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology) said, if it is plastic bottles that use several Three times to drink filtered water is not a problem. But if it is a bottle containing oil, milk … in general, a plastic bottle containing fat, it will be able to dissolve other substances in the water, the plastic has the opportunity to be uncontaminated, affecting human health.

In addition, the principle of single-use plastic for food is that after the first use, that plastic is collected and cannot be reused for recycling in the food industry in general. If you keep storing food in recycled plastic, the risk of getting sick from plastic is huge. This issue must be strictly controlled by the State in coordination with the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene to avoid diseases arising from this hazard.

However, for customers who use disposable plastic products, perhaps because they are so used to using disposable plastic items, chopsticks, and paper food, no one wonders or is careful. Ask to put food in another place.

According to regulations on food safety and hygiene, chopsticks, spoons, bowls, plates… are items in direct contact with food used in eating and drinking, so they are subject to control on food safety and hygiene. However, in Vietnam, the quality of this product is still not interested.

Bottled water is no longer a strange product for all of us because it is a necessary drink for daily life. However, those familiar plastic bottles contain many secrets that we do not know.

1. Do not reuse plastic bottles

A plastic bottle can contain a lot of dangerous chemicals. If you don’t believe this, look down at the triangular label made up of 3 two-way arrows and a number on the bottom of each plastic bottle. It tells us what kind of plastic the bottle is made of.
If the label is 1, it means that the bottle is made of PET (also known as PETE) and it should only be used once.
The reason is that when exposed to oxygen and high temperatures, especially sunlight and hot water, this plastic will release toxic substances and enter the water silently without us knowing. know well.

Also, avoid water bottles labeled 3 and 7, respectively, for PVC and PC materials. These are plastics that produce a lot of harmful substances, they leach into your food and drink, and in the long run, they can cause serious harm to your health.
Labels 2, 4 and 5, respectively, for HPPE, LDPE and PP are considered green and reusable labels. However, these plastics are only good when you use them to store cold water and disinfect them regularly.

2. Bacteria and extremely unhygienic

Scientists use an analogy that unsanitary used water bottles are as bad as toilet seats, pet toys or even worse.
Many people consider that to be an exaggeration, however, science has proven that the number of bacteria on such plastic bottles exceeds the permissible limit. We are created by ourselves, by dirty hands, by saliva in our mouths, by not cleaning thoroughly.
Studies show that the veins on the neck of the bottle, where it comes in direct contact with our mouth, are the perfect place for the organism to grow rapidly.
So disinfect the bottles thoroughly before reusing them.

3. Origin of bottled water

Bottled water companies and manufacturers often paint on the packaging that their water is taken from fresh and picturesque springs. But admittedly, many times you find that the water in those bottles is no different from the domestic water in your home.

In fact, you should notice that on the packaging of each bottle there will often be a text printed in extremely small font size that most of us don’t even notice. However, those are the “expressions” of manufacturers about the origin of the water products they make.

4. Not really good for health

Leaving aside the problem of bacteria, bottled water is not really as good for our health as we think.
Targeting young people and sports people, manufacturers often advertise their products as extremely healthy and healthy because they do not contain sugar like other drinks.
However, in fact, the sugar content in some brands of bottled water is comparable to soda. So, don’t let the ads “cover your eyes”, always read the ingredients carefully before spending money to buy.

The chair you sit on, the water bottle, the food container you use… are all made of plastic. But each of these types of plastic has great differences in use as well as health effects that not everyone knows.

Plastic is an extremely common material in the world, appearing in almost every aspect of human life. From home appliances, children’s toys, moving vehicles, mechanical machinery to advanced things like electronic components.

There are many different types of plastic, but basically we can divide them into 2 main categories, which are primary plastic and recycled plastic.

1/ Distinguishing recycled and primary plastic

As the name suggests, recycled plastic refers to plastics that are reused. From old, damaged plastic items thrown away such as packaging, medical equipment, machinery… they are collected and melted into plastic particles.

So, recycled plastics can include plastics that have been used over and over again, like they have had many “lifetimes” and are in a different shape each time.

Using plastic every day, how well do you understand the concept of recycled and primary plastic?

– Picture 1. Plastic bottles and utensils are collected for recycling.

In the recycling process, this type of plastic will often be difficult to avoid being mixed with impurities and must add detergent additives, so the recycled plastic particles will be opaque, not clear.

Using plastic every day, how well do you understand the concept of recycled and primary plastic?

–

Photo 2. Shape and color of recycled plastic particles.

Unlike recycled plastic, virgin plastic is a pure type, created from petroleum distillation.

This is a type of plastic in its original form, unused, without chemicals or additives. For ease of understanding, we can consider primary plastic as 99.99% gold in all plastics.

Using plastic every day, how well do you understand the concept of recycled and primary plastic?

Pic. 3. Primary plastic is created from petroleum distillation, in its original form, without any additives, very safe to use when in direct contact with humans.

Primary plastic therefore has the characteristics of flexibility, good pressure resistance, glossy surface and brighter colors, so it brings high aesthetics to the product. Therefore, this type of plastic usually costs much more than recycled plastic.

They are used in products that require high safety and technical requirements due to their direct impact on human health and quality of life such as the food industry, medical care, aircraft….

2/ Recycled vs primary – Which type of plastic is better?

Many people often ask themselves the question: “So which type of recycled and primary plastic should be used?”, “Which is better?”. The answer to this is that you can use both types of plastic because they are both extremely useful. Each type of plastic will be used for different purposes.

Recycled plastic will be used to make items and tools that require durability, tough and tough physical properties. For example, use in the field of construction, environment.

Used to make ropes, carpets, plastic pipe membranes, drainage pipes, plastic bottles and cans, household appliances, glass pots… And primary plastic will be used to create more friendly products. with users.

For example, when choosing plastic for household use, especially to preserve food in the kitchen and children’s utensils, you should use primary plastic.

Because primary plastic is not mixed with harmful chemical additives, it is safer when it comes into direct contact with food, drink or the human body.

As in a recent study published on the website of the Indian Ministry of Health, experts have said that reusing plastic water bottles can be even more unhygienic than sucking on items. play of the pet dog.

Therefore, the reuse of unsafe plastic items will cause you to face many safety and hygiene problems.

Using plastic every day, how well do you understand the concept of recycled and primary plastic?

In many countries around the world and even in Vietnam, health agencies and community organizations have introduced laws and regulations, specifying that only virgin plastic can be used for food plastic items. .

Manufacturing companies have also strictly followed these regulations to ensure the health of consumers. For example, Tupperware, a brand from the US, has always been a pioneer in using virgin plastic to produce utensils that come into direct contact with food.

Founded in 1946 and spent nearly a century of development, Tupperware is now present all over the world and was recently officially present in Vietnam. Plastic company is famous for products made from virgin plastic, safe and non-toxic.

The materials and additives all comply with the standards of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Japan Food Safety and Hygiene Association (JISC) and the Japan Clean Plastics Association (JHOSPA). .