Is Your Takeaway Food Container Safe?
author: Iris
2024-05-04
Is Your Takeaway Food Container Safe?
According to big data survey, the fast food boxes on the market are roughly divided into disposable plastic packaging boxes, disposable paper lunch boxes, and disposable biodegradable lunch boxes.
1. Disposable Plastic Lunch Boxes
1) Disposable Foam Plastic Lunch Boxes
Disposable foam plastic lunch boxes are made of polystyrene resin. After being heated and melted in an extruder, a foaming agent (butane) is added to extrude the sheet. After the sheet is rolled up, it is placed in a ventilated and humid environment for health preservation and then heated and blister-formed for a second time to make various lunch boxes. It is widely used because of its advantages of heat preservation, pressure resistance, and low cost. However, due to the irreversible damage to the environment, the term "white pollution" once became a hot topic. The harm of disposable foam lunch boxes is that when the temperature of food placed in foam plastic lunch boxes exceeds 65 degrees, toxic substances such as bisphenol A will be released. Bisphenol A is an organic chemical raw material that is not easily decomposed by the digestive system and is very likely to cause physical harm.
2) PP Plastic Lunch Box
PP plastic lunch box is made of polypropylene. It has good heat resistance and will not release toxic substances when the temperature of the food is too high, provided that the material used is food-grade PP material. If the PP plastic used has a strong odor, it is a low-quality product and may be toxic. Lunch boxes made of PP material are generally transparent, non-toxic and harmless, and are often seen on disposable fast food boxes.
2. Disposable Cardboard Fast Food Boxes
1) Paper Lunch Box
The raw materials of paper lunch boxes are mostly pulp or wood pulp, which need to be pressed and shaped to get the finished product. Paper lunch boxes themselves do not have waterproof and oil-proof functions. For example, the kraft cardboard soup buckets and disposable paper cups that we often use need to be coated with plastic on the inner wall of the tableware to achieve the effect of no leakage. However, when the plastic coating encounters hot water or hot food, it will release toxic chemicals, which reduces the use of plastic to a certain extent, but the harm to the human body has not been reduced accordingly.
At the same time, paper lunch boxes mostly use wood pulp, which may cause tree felling and forest destruction during papermaking. In the deep processing of wood pulp, a large amount of sewage will also be generated, which will pollute the environment and is not in line with the concept of sustainable green development.
3. Biodegradable Lunch Boxes
1) Partially Degradable Lunch Boxes
Partially degradable lunch boxes generally refer to corn starch-based lunch boxes, which are polymers-polylactic acid obtained by chemical methods using corn, cassava, etc. as raw materials. The characteristics are that they do not contain substances harmful to the human body, are waterproof and oil-proof, and can be partially degraded. Compared with traditional lunch boxes, they are more environmentally friendly. The authenticity of corn starch lunch boxes starts from the color and smell. White lunch boxes may have some additives such as bleach and talcum powder added, because the powder lunch box itself is yellow in color and smells like the fragrance of corn plants.
2) Fully Degradable Lunch Boxes
Fully degradable lunch boxes generally refer to lunch boxes made of plant fibers such as straw, reed, sugar cane, and bamboo. Under the action of enzymes of natural microorganisms (bacteria, mold, and algae), biochemical reactions occur, causing changes in appearance and internal quality, and finally forming carbon dioxide and water. It is easy to use and lightweight. During deep processing, food-grade waterproof and oil-proof additives are used to prevent penetration. In addition to the above characteristics and differences, the cost of degradable lunch boxes is relatively high. Of course, with the development of the economy and the large demand for environmentally friendly lunch boxes in the future, biodegradable lunch boxes may become the main force of disposable environmentally friendly tableware.
Understand the "ID card" of plastic products! The triangular mark at the bottom of plastic products is equivalent to the "ID card" of the product. At present, the packaging boxes on the market are mainly 1, 5, and 6. Generally speaking, they are safe. No. 1 and No. 6 that is relatively poor heat resistance, cannot be heated, and cannot hold high-temperature food. Plastic bottles for mineral water, juice, and carbonated beverages are made of No. 1 material; many cup lids for milk tea now use No. 6. No. 5 which can withstand high temperatures of about 200°C and can be heated in a microwave oven. There will be no problem with repeated heating.
Currently, the disposable plastic tableware used in the market is mostly made of PP (polypropylene). This material itself is relatively safe and generally has good thermal stability. The highest heat-resistant temperature can reach 130°C. For high-temperature resistant lunch boxes, you should also try to avoid putting too oily food. Because some components in plastic products are fat-soluble, if the fat content in food is high, it is very conducive to their dissolution. Although it is not necessarily harmful, it is not a good thing. It should be avoided as much as possible.
4. Can Plastic Lunch Boxes Be Heated in a Microwave?
It is safe to put food, but it does not mean that it is safe to heat. Except for No. 5 plastic polypropylene (PP), which can be put into the microwave, the heat resistance of other plastics is much worse. It is best not to heat it directly or put too hot food.
5. Can Plastic Lunch Boxes Be Used to Hold Seasonings?
Regular plastic products may dissolve less substances. It is not impossible to use them to hold oil, vinegar, and soy sauce, but it is not recommended. There are indeed some fat-soluble small molecules in plastic. If it is used to store cooking oil in daily life, some substances will penetrate into the vegetable oil. Glass bottles are a better choice than plastic beverage bottles.
6. Tips
1) No "ID card"
Avoid using plastic products without "ID cards", especially such lunch boxes, which should be rejected.
2) No Logo or Number
Without QS logo and number, the surface of the lunch box is not smooth, with impurities or spots.
3) The Darker the Color, The Less Safe
Generally speaking, transparent plastic lunch boxes are made of pure polypropylene (PP) and have a higher safety factor; brightly colored lunch boxes may use waste plastics, so the darker the color, the less safe they are.
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