Is it Safe to Use Plastic in My Microwave?
The answer is a resounding yes – and no! The risks of using plastic in your microwave fall into two categories – physical and chemical. The first we can deal with fairly rapidly. If there is a physical problem with your plastic container, it will either melt or warp. When that happens, there’s a chance of a burn if you touch it, possibly some contaminated food, and almost certainly, a ruined container. The second is much more sinister. Plastic is not just plastic – it comes in a multitude of different types, different chains of molecules strung together to provide different characteristics for different purposes. Unfortunately, they do not all react identically when they are exposed to microwave energy. Advances in plastics technology are so rapid that even the US Food and Drugs Administration has a hard job keeping up and of course so do we, the consumers. Plastic-containing food containers are often incredibly complex sandwiches of aluminum foil, plastic, paper and dyes – so how do y
