Plastic Containers Can Increase Your Risk of Cancer! Here are 12 Non-Toxic Alternatives
Plastic Tupperware containers can increase your risk of cancer! Instead, use these 12 natural alternatives!
According to The Green Guide, a website and magazine devoted to greener living and owned by the National Geographic Society, the safest plastics for repeated use in storing food are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE, or plastic #2), low-density polyethylene (LDPE, or plastic #4) and polypropylene (PP, or plastic #5). Most Tupperware products are made of LDPE or PP, and as such are considered safe for repeated use storing food items and cycling through the dishwasher. Most food storage products from Glad, Hefty, Ziploc and Saran also pass The Green Guide’s muster for health safety.
But consumers should be aware of more than just a few “safe” brands, as most companies make several product lines featuring different types of plastics. While the vast majority of Tupperware products are considered safe, for example, some of its food storage containers use polycarbonate (plastic #7), which has been shown to leach the harmful hormone-disrupting chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) into food items after repeated uses. Consumers concerned about such risks might want to avoid the following polycarbonate-based Tupperware products: the Rock ‘N Serve microwave line, the Meals-in-Minutes Microsteamer, the “Elegant” Serving Line, the TupperCare baby bottle, the Pizza Keep’ N Heat container, and the Table Collection (the last three are no longer made but might still be kicking around your kitchen).
Containers made of polystyrene (PS, or plastic #6, also known as Styrofoam) can also be dangerous, as its base component, styrene, has been associated with skin, eye and respiratory irritation, depression, fatigue, compromised kidney function, and central nervous system damage. Take-out restaurant orders often come in polystyrene containers, which also should be emptied into safer containers once you get them home.
You can especially transfer dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals by nuking plastic. When food is wrapped in plastic or placed in a plastic container and microwaved, BPA and phthalates may leak into the food. Any migration is likely to be greater with fatty foods such as meats and cheeses than with other foods.
Here are some natural alternatives to plastic food containers.
- Mason jars
- Corning Ware
- Enamel-on-steel bowls, with lids
- Glass Lock containers
- Stainless steel containers
- 100-percent cotton outer with nylon lining storage bags
- Reusable Beeswax wraps
- You can reuse glass jars
- Pyrex Glass containers
- Ceramic Cookware (lots come with lids)
- Silicone Suction Lids and Food Covers (You could leave your food in the original bowl)
- Natural parchment paper (Use to wrap food in)