Microwavable Containers

A couple of weeks ago I watched a colleague of mine as they microwaved a cup of soup. It was one of those red plastic party cups we've all used in one way or another over the years. Well, when he finally took it out of the microwave the cup was crumpled along the bottom where it had started to melt. I begged him not to ever do that again because as it heats and begins to melt the plastic is releasing poison into the soup. I don't microwave any plastics at all. I pop my microwave dinners out of their containers and put them on a glass plate. Far safer for our bodies that's for sure.

The Following excerpt was taken from health.harvard.edu
When food is wrapped in plastic or placed in a plastic container and microwaved, substances used in manufacturing the plastic (plasticizers) may leak into the food. In particular, fatty foods such as meats and cheeses cause a chemical called diethylhexyl adipate to leach out of the plastic. This certainly sounds scary, so it’s little wonder that a warning is making its way across the Web.

But here’s what the e-mails don’t mention. The FDA, recognizing the potential for small amounts of plasticizers to migrate, closely regulates plastic containers and materials that come into contact with food. Before approving a container, the FDA conducts tests to make sure that it doesn’t leak unsafe amounts of any substance into food.

Just make sure the container you put in the microwave is safe. The plastic party cups probably are not.