This article from Annie B. Bond at the "Healthy and Green Living" section of Care2.com summarizes which plastic materials are safe, that is, don't leach toxins into food, and which plastics are nasty for our health.

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/whi...-are-safe.html

I think some bottled water companies are capitalizing on the fear that plastic drinking bottles are toxic. You'll be able to make an informed judgment for yourself after reading this short article!

Cheers,
BB

Regardless of what they say I have chosen to eliminate most plastics from my kitchen. one concern is leaving water in a plastic bottle and letting it get hot..

__________________

I may have been wrong all along, but I heard years back that the smaller the number on a plastic container with the triangle symbol on the bottom, the less safe it was in the microwave. So, for example, I avoided using ones and twos. Now I guess that was just recycling info?


Table of resin codes Recycling number

__________________
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

I virtually cut out the use of the microwave when I learned that microwaves alter the nutritional value of food.

https://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html

The PET is bad, but what is bad is not the plastics themselves, but the plasticizers used in them. They leach out. I know when doing electrochemical corrosion tests, you never store solutions in plastic bottles (only glass ones with teflon (no plastizers) caps). Even plastic hoses used to bubble nitrogen through the test cells will screw up your data.

When I got married over 20 years ago the day I moved in was the day my husbands microwave got put at the curb to disappear within an hour. I don't want it near me and my food. Have you seen all the studies from Russia on what it does to food? I've been told that they are not sold there at all.

K2C,
Posted this awhile ago @
https://www.proactivehealthnet.com/he...ead.php?t=2100
There's more info that may be of more interest to you, but I don't have the time to copy/paste everything right now.lol


Check for the letters "PC" (polycarbonate) or the #7 within a triangle which means it may contain BPA (biphenyl-A). This is mostly found in hard, clear plastics.



[Quote:]The news about plastics has been pretty alarming lately, causing some of us to go dashing for the water bottles to see what kind of plastic they are—and find out if we’ve been unwittingly poisoning our children and ourselves with chemicals leaching into the water from them.
If you’ve been concerned, here is a handy chart that identifies the good, bad, and OK plastics and where they are found. Find out here:

1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

2 High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Milk, water, and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash, and retail bags.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

3 Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC)
Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses, and other foods sold in delicatessens and groceries are wrapped in PVC.
BAD: To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticizers” during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen.

4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
Some bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles.
OK: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.

5 Polypropylene (PP)
Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs.
OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.

6 Polystyrene (PS)
Foam insulation and also for hard applications (e.g. cups, some toys)
BAD: Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling.

7 Other (usually polycarbonate)
Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans
BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages.[/Quote]
Source: greenliving

Thanks Cookie! Much appreciated!

I agree about the Microwave - I haven't used mine in years - it's
attached to my built-in stove so I can't throw it out. I just store
stuff in it. LOL!
As to plastic containers, I do use some of them for leftovers, like the
containers that sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. come in but I never
use them for reheating a leftover food.

We do not use one either, as a chemist, I have to ask myself, what does the localized heating do, and I can assure you, the small areas of the food or plastics that get hit do have major chemical changes

Gosh, I use microwave a lot, a reputational scientist said it's completely harmless.

I believe it is harmless as well Kevin. I'm no scientist; but I've done a lot of research into radiation. Microwaves just cause water molecules to move around (oscillate) so rapidly that they heat up. The only problem would be that there would be something wrong with the oven that the waves might escape. The ovens are manufactures so well that the seals prevent such a thing. It would be weird to think that microwave would be harmful for more than a few inches from the oven anyway. They are too short. Never the less, it is best to stand away from the oven. Your eyes would be the most vulnerable to the microwaves, since they are so moist. Also, people with heart pace makers need to avoid them. Other than that, I just don't see any harm. The heat of a conventional over causes as much problems with the structure and nutrition of food as microwave - only much slower. People can cause problems for themselves when they think they can be safe microwaving with plastics too.

They do generate an electromagnetic field like all of your other large appliances. If you are sensitive to EMFs, then you may have a problem.

Microwaves are short waves and are used in cell phones; so if you really are paranoid about microwaves, best not to use a cell phone.

__________________
-
- Jim

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

Microwave ovens are safe from the point of view they do not emit radiation, however, in cooking food, there are areas of the food (and especially the plastic) that get short bursts of extreme heating causing chemical changes not seen by the food in conventional ovens.

I'm not trying to play favorites with a cooking tool. If I were, I'd probably go for the outdoor BBQ. But even then, I would know how to use the tool properly. For example, I'd be careful not to char the meat on the grill; even though I like it that way. I'm not like the French who like theirs raw; including their ground beef.

Same for the microwave. I respect the standing time for food to complete cooking after the oven completes. I know to turn my dish occasionally. In my case, I have a carousel anyway. And I know to use the proper approved microwave safe dish. I expect others to know these things too. After all, microwave ovens have been around long enough now.

For the oven, I know that I better continue to check on things. Once, I was trying to roast nuts. They caught on fire; and I had to use the extinguisher.

Then there is the slow cooker. More rules there.

I know that wasn't meant to be funny, but I'm cryin' over here!!!

__________________