Should I still eat bagged beef brisket? Foodies are quite confused

Original title: Are plastic bags used to cover bowls toxic? Experts: It is difficult to determine whether they are toxic based on color and taste

"Plastic bags used to cover bowls contain a large amount of stabilizers and plasticizers, which will quickly seep out and transfer to food when exposed to heat or contact with oily foods, posing a carcinogenic hazard." Recently, a piece of information that the China Consumers Association (hereinafter referred to as "China Consumers Association") claimed that bags used to cover bowls are toxic has been widely circulated online. Yesterday, the Guangzhou Quality Supervision Bureau stated on its official Weibo that "it is a misunderstanding that plastic bags are toxic and cannot be used to store cooked food." One said it causes cancer, and the other said it is a misunderstanding. Can citizens really eat the delicacies in plastic bags with confidence?

China Consumers Association:

Plastic bags over bowls have carcinogenic risks

"In order to avoid the trouble of cleaning and disinfection, some stall owners will put plastic bags directly on the bowls to hold food. Since most of the plastic bags over the bowls are polyvinyl chloride plastic bags, they contain a large amount of stabilizers and plasticizers. When they are exposed to heat or come into contact with oily foods, they will quickly seep out and transfer to the food, causing carcinogenic hazards." This news has been spreading on the Internet since the Spring Festival.

The reporter searched and found that the source of this news was the consumer warning issued by the China Consumers Association during the Spring Festival for temple fair snacks. In this regard, the China Consumers Association reminds consumers to pay attention to food safety when dining at temple fairs. The relevant person in charge of the China Consumers Association said that stall owners put plastic bags directly on the bowls to hold food. These plastic bags over the bowls will produce harmful substances to the human body, and long-term use will cause greater harm to health. In real life, many restaurant owners will also put plastic bags directly on the bowls to hold food in order to avoid the trouble of cleaning and disinfection and save costs.

"It's so dangerous to eat beef offal in the future!" "Look at this, I won't dare to eat spicy hot pot anymore, they are all in bags..." After the news spread, many netizens talked about it. The Cantonese temple fair, which will be held on the Lantern Festival, was also "caught in the crossfire". "It is said that temple fair delicacies cannot be packed in plastic bags, so many things cannot be eaten?!" Miss Chen, a post-80s Cantonese, is a food lover in Xiguan. This news made her re-examine her eating habits.

Guangzhou Quality Supervision:

Colorless and transparent bags can hold food

On February 17, Guangzhou Quality Supervision also released the message "Bagging bowls are poisonous!" on its official Weibo, and reminded citizens "not to eat food in bagged bowls". Yesterday, "Guangzhou Quality Supervision" followed up and said "It is a misunderstanding that plastic bags are poisonous and cannot be used to hold cooked food."

The microblog mentioned, "@Guangzhou Quality Supervision interviewed experts from the National Packaging Product Quality Inspection Center and learned that plastic bags are divided into food and non-food plastic bags. It is safe to use food packaging bags to pack food. Polyvinyl chloride plastic bags are actually rarely used. PE/PP plastic bags are non-toxic and odorless and can be used with confidence. Colorless and transparent bags can generally be directly used to pack food, but the temperature should generally not exceed 100 degrees Celsius."

It is understood that polyvinyl chloride, which is harmful to the human body, generally has a yellow-green color, so when making plastic bags, they will be colored, such as plastic bags for garbage are often colored black. Colorless and transparent plastic bags are widely used to hold food. A professional who has been engaged in the plastics industry for more than 10 years believes that the China Consumers Association's "plastic bags are toxic" is not accurate. "The commonly used plastic bags are made of polyethylene, which is non-toxic, tasteless and chemically stable. Polyethylene does not require stabilizers or plasticizers to be added during the entire production process, and there is no problem of oil precipitation when exposed to heat or oil. Instead, how to degrade is a global problem." He suggested that the China Consumers Association could advocate not to use plastic bags to pack food in the name of environmental protection.

Expert:

It is difficult to determine whether it is toxic from the color and taste

Is there a simple way to determine whether a plastic bag is toxic? Lu Jiang, professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Sun Yat-sen University, said that it is difficult to determine whether a plastic bag is toxic just by looking at its color and taste. It can only be tested with instruments to see what ingredients it contains. "When choosing plastic bags, choose those produced by large suppliers, which are safer. Plastic bags with colors or strange smells are generally not used to pack food."

The reporter also consulted relevant personnel from the Guangzhou Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute and the National Packaging Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Guangzhou). He introduced that the center provides plastic bag inspection services. The inspection fees for different materials are different. Taking PE (one of the components of plastic bags) as an example, the inspection fee is more than 900 yuan. In this regard, some citizens interviewed sighed that it is too expensive to know whether the food they eat is poisonous. "I bought a 10-yuan beef brisket, do I have to spend 900 yuan to see if it is poisonous before I dare to eat it?"

Helpless Complaint

The inspection fee for PE plastic bags is more than 900 yuan! I bought a 10-yuan beef brisket, do I have to spend another 900 yuan to see if it is poisonous before I dare to eat it?

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