Plastic products have played a great role in facilitating our lives. However, while people are pursuing the convenience and affordability of plastic products, they may lower their requirements for health and safety.

The reporter "edited" some mistakes that citizens often make when using food-related plastic products into their daily lives. After learning about the harm of these inadvertent mistakes, you may ask yourself: Do you really use plastic products?

7 o'clock

Wrong action: directly use colored plastic bags to pack fish, meat and vegetables

Health reminder: Most of them are recycled products, or contain carcinogens

Every morning, Li Long, who lives on Jiayu Road, goes to the fresh vegetable market to buy ingredients, and from time to time she also buys some fried dough sticks, steamed buns and other breakfasts. "Now when I go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, I use black plastic bags for fish, yellow plastic bags for fruits, and white bags for fried dough sticks... It's quite convenient." Li Long said that she can clean out more than ten plastic bags of various sizes in her kitchen every day.

Yang Daiming, chairman of the Hunan Food Quality and Safety Technology Association, introduced that the main components of plastic bags are polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester, polypropylene, etc. China uses different labels to distinguish plastic bags according to their different components, such as PET, HDPE, PVC, etc.

During the visit, the reporter learned that the plastic bags commonly used in farmers' markets basically have no labels. They are purchased by stall owners in wholesale markets based on the weight and characteristics of the food, and there is no distinction between food and non-food use. Some plastic bags have a pungent smell as soon as they are opened.

In the production process, plastic products can be recycled and regenerated. An important part of this process is the processing of colorants. Colorants that do not meet quality standards will cause plastic bags to contain carcinogens such as benzopyrene and excessive heavy metals. If these plastic bags are used directly to pack food, there are potential health risks. In this regard, experts suggest that citizens should bring their own environmentally friendly shopping bags when buying vegetables to reduce environmental pollution and food pollution; if you must use plastic bags, you should try to choose white or colorless and transparent ones, and try to avoid using dark or black plastic bags.

12 o'clock

Wrong action: Cooking oil and cooking wine are stored in mineral water bottles

Health reminder: Plasticizer migration may bring safety risks

Not long ago, Li Meng's relatives sent her a large barrel of tea oil and rice wine. In order to facilitate storage, she cleaned five or six 1-liter mineral water bottles and divided the oil and wine into small bottles. Every day when she cooks, she pours some, which she thinks is convenient and does not take up space.

"Many citizens use mineral water bottles as versatile containers to store wine, oil, and even some chemicals. Little do they know that there are invisible safety risks hidden in this." The relevant person in charge of the Food Production Department of the Changsha Food and Drug Administration said that there are two types of plastic products - soft plastic and hard plastic. The main component of mineral water bottles is polyester, which has a heat resistance range of up to 65¡ãC and a cold resistance range of minus 20¡ãC. It is only suitable for warm or frozen drinks. It is easy to deform when filled with hot liquids or heated directly.

In addition, a plasticizer is added to the mineral water bottle during the production process to soften the bottle. Plasticizer is a small molecule substance that is ester-soluble. It is insoluble in water but soluble in oil or ethanol. People often hear the word "migration", that is, when edible oil and cooking wine are placed in mineral water bottles, the plasticizer in the bottle is "tempted" by the oil and ethanol and can "run" into the edible oil and cooking wine. Long-term consumption of foods with excessive plasticizers may cause damage to the human reproductive system and immune system, and large intake may also cause cancer.

18:00

Wrong action: Microwave heating of packaged crayfish and roast duck

Health reminder: Do not heat food directly together with the packaged box

Yesterday at noon, Zhao Ruirui packed crayfish and roast duck at a dinner party outside. At dinner time, in order to wash fewer dishes, she directly put the disposable packaged box in the microwave to heat it. In less than two minutes, the hot crayfish and roast duck were served on the table.

According to Miao Hong, a member of the National Food Safety Standard Review Committee and an expert in the formulation of group standards for takeaway delivery boxes, the lunch boxes that can be used for microwave heating will have the word "PP". Its main component is polypropylene, and the heat-resistant temperature can reach 120¡æ. When consumers use microwaves to heat packaged food, they should first confirm whether there is the word "PP" on the lunch box. It is best to put the food in a container that can be used for microwave heating before heating.

It should be noted that compared with other plastic products, the cost of plastic lunch boxes made of "PP" material is relatively high. In order to reduce costs, some production units will "make plans" on the lid of the box and use non-professional PP materials. The latter cannot withstand high temperatures, so it is best to remove the lid of the lunch box when heating food.

Miao Hong reminded that there is also a kind of fast food box marked with "PS" in the commonly used fast food boxes, which is also not suitable for heating in the microwave. The main component of this material fast food box is polystyrene. When the temperature of the food it contains exceeds 70¡æ, toxic substances will be released. Therefore, when consumers pack, it is best not to use this material fast food box to pack hot food.

22:00

Wrong action: Microwave heating boxed milk

Health reminder: It is safer to heat with hot water

"It turns out that my approach has always been wrong." He He's mother realized her wrong behavior after reading a popular science article on how to heat milk correctly two days ago. It turns out that He He has the habit of drinking a glass of milk before going to bed at night. When the temperature is not high, He He's mother always feels that the boxed milk is too cold, so she puts the milk in the microwave to heat it for 10 seconds.

Qu Jizhong, a nutritionist at Changsha Fourth Hospital, said that this practice is detrimental to health, mainly because the inner wall of the paper milk carton is affixed with a layer of low-density polyethylene plastic film. Although this film has good water barrier properties, when the heating temperature exceeds 110¡ãC, it will melt and precipitate some plastic preparations that the human body cannot metabolize. Therefore, the correct way to heat boxed milk is not to put it in a microwave, but to heat it in hot water.

However, Yang Daiming also said that it is unscientific to discuss food safety risks without considering the dosage. It cannot be said that if a certain harmful substance is found in food, this substance is harmful, but it must be analyzed and judged based on comprehensive factors such as consumption dosage and contact time. (Reporter Zhou Huixia)

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