Steps You Can Take to Limit Exposure
Steps You Can Take to Limit Exposure
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Consumers anxious to reduce their exposure to suspect plastics components won't find the going easy. Labeling of plastics ingredients is not required in all cases, making it hard for consumers to confidently identify all products containing phthalates or bisphenol A (BPA). But there are some steps people can take to lower possible risk, toxicology experts say.
To reduce contact with possibly harmful plastics components in general:
· Avoid placing hot food or liquids in plastic containers. Use glass, ceramic or stainless-steel containers instead. Heating plastics to high temperatures promotes the leaching of chemicals out of containers and into the food or liquid they hold.
Freezing liquids in plastic bottles, incidentally, poses no such risk. Contrary to recent online reports that claimed freezing water releases carcinogenic materials into water, freezing actually retards the release of chemicals.
· When heating food in a microwave oven, use only cookware that is labeled "microwave safe."
· Remove food from plastic wrapping before thawing or reheating in a microwave.
· Buy products in cardboard cartons instead of plastic containers.
