Safety in the use of plastics has been a long standing concern for many people. As someone closely working with this industry I can definitely clear some things up for you.
First of all, there is no general term called "plastic poisoning", I assume you are referring to dangerous chemicals or what innumerable forwards may have warned as carcinogens that can enter your food and poison you and give you long term health risks. That is partially true but only half the story. There are many safe and unsafe plastics out there with each plastic typically having very specific use cases in the industry.
Coming to bottles - Plastic Bottles come in many MANY varieties, including (in order of most commonly found): (Note, in terms of plastics, there are many other grades as well, but not commonly used in bottles or food storage and I have chosen to ignore them for this answer)
1. PET - Poly Ethylene Terapthalate
This is easily the most commonly used material. Think of your coca cola bottles, bottled water, and nearly every commercialized beverage. That is a standard PET bottle. PET has been around for many decades now and while it is largely very safe to use, it should be noted that most PET products are only Food Contact Safe vs. Food Grade. Food Contact safe is usually a term to indicate that there are absolutely no known issues for the expected shelf-life + expected consumption period of that product and not for perpetual use.
My suggestion would be to avoid storing and using these as you can definitely find better/safer alternatives out there. Its usually a standard household habit to re-use 2L or other bigger PET bottles for regular home use once the beverages are empty - avoid it if you can!
Also, its quite possible that you have received many forwards on e-mail or whatsapp/[your favorite messenger/social media platform here] about the dangers of drinking water left in the car, etc. Those are usually in reference to PET bottles, bevause they are not very stable in high heat conditions, or in presence of UV. They can partially degrade and leech chemicals (extremely small traces) into the contents of your bottle.
You may also be aware of terms like BPA which are bad for you. But you may not have heard of other terms like pthalates which are also harmful chemicals not fit for human consumption. The composition of the plastic itself contains pthalates, so at times of chemical (even with the contents), heat or UV exposure, it certainly is quite possible, even if remotely that pthalates can leech into your water/beverage. There are standard pthalate leech tests in distilled water, acetic acid and rectified olive oil in laboratories that routinely confirm this.
2. PP - Poly Propylene
While these are far more safer for regular use and are typically THE standard material used by all name-brand companies like Lock & Lock, Tupperware, Rubbermaid, Cutting EDGE, Oxo, etc. they are not as widely adopted for bottles largely because they aren't as transparent, clear, and therefore beautiful compared to PP based bottles. If it were, it would definitely have been commercialized far more. If you're buying plastic bottles for home/regular use, i'd definitely suggest you take a look at your bottle when purchasing and look for Recycling Code 5 with the letters PP on it.
For regular use, I'd definitely suggest a PP based bottle as both safe, and very economical to use with the only caveat being that it may not be as pretty and clear/transparent as your PET bottle.
3. HDPE - High Density Poly Ethylene
HDPE and some variants are typically used in (for example) milk packaging containers. They are also fairly safe, with no known major issues whatsoever. They aren't very popular though because their physical properties vs PP in terms of thermal stability, etc. are not thst great and are definitely even less aesthetically appealing as compared to polypropylene bottles. I'm not aware of any major bottle manufacturer that has commercialized HDPE for making bottles, sippy cups, etc. for general/home/regular consumption and its unlikely that you'll come across them. Your bleach containers, oil canisters, etc. are also all made of HDPE or related variants.
4. PC - Poly Carbonate
Once the king of consumer plastics and used for premium variants of products, PC is very expensive, very tough, clear glass like that extremely strong and used as an "unbreakable" alternative to any polystyrene based product. This same plastic is now the main focus of concern of the BPA free debate. What was once popular for Baby bottles and appliances for the upmarket segment and targeted to people who typically spend much more, PC is NOT BPA-free and is typically the villain of choice when it comes to belittling plastics in the food industry. PC is identified with the recycling code 7 at the bottom of products (not all code 7's are PC though). Ironically, the safer BPS based plastics that replaced BPA based polymers used formerly, are also not found to be that much safer either. (Recent articles can be found on google, search for "BPS not safer than BPA")
These plastics, storage containers, bottles, etc. are usually at a very high price point, and are otherwise EXCELLENT for general storage in the kitchen, like cereal packets, biscuits, etc. but do avoid them for direct food contact (store packaged food only)
GENERAL ADVICE
In spite of what is said above, people generally have an issue with the "plastic smell" that there on foods, liquids stored in plastic over a small period of time. Regardless of what you decide to use, ensure that you regularly clean out your containers, air dry them, and wipe them clean to ensure there is no moisture on the inside. Using good quality air-tight containers that actually work (try a few to see which work better), you should get much better, healthier food stored in your containers/bottles or (in this case), uncontaminated and safe drinking water for regular consumption. Avoid PET bottles and as a thumb rule stick to Recycling code #5 plastics(PP) or polyesters (Tritan) when it comes to your food storage containers or bottles. With that being followed, I see no reason for concern of any sort of "plastic poisoning" whatsoever.
http://www.sinobema.com/Difference-between-bottles-of-pure-water?article_id=90&pagenum=all
www.sinobeveragemachinery.com
WhatsApp: 0086 137 28668423
WhatsApp: 0086 137 28668423
没有评论:
发表评论