Deplasticizing Your Foods

Chemicals are most likely to migrate from plastic into food when exposed to high heat, harsh soaps, and fat. The following precautionary measures can help you play it safe.

AVOID MICROWAVING IN PLASTIC.
Heat speeds the release of chemicals into food. "People are being sold microwave-safe plastic, when in fact we're not being told what's in there and the rate at which these chemicals leach out," says researcher Frederick vom Saal. Avoid this uncertainty by using ceramic or glass instead.

EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES.
"I have one word for you: glass," Terry Hassold, a professor of genetics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, who has studied the health effects of bisphenol-A (BPA) on mice, You can also store your food in ceramic containers, waxed and brown paper bags, and metal canisters made for hot and cold food.

USE PAPER-NOT CLING-WRAP.
Many studies indicate that most of the cling wrap used by delis and grocery stores contains high levels of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plasticizing chemical that has been linked to hormonal abnormalities in mice. (Happily, the cling wraps made for home use are safer.) Ask the butcher to wrap meat and fish in paper. And transfer fatty deli foods out of plastic wrap and into waxed paper when you get home. "If you put cling wrap that's been plastcized on fatty foods, that stuff will migrate," says Consumer Union's Ned Groth. You might also want to cut off cheese's outer layer - which has been directly exposed to plastic - before rewrapping it in something safer.

WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT.
Discoloration, cracks, or other signs of wear suggest your plastic containers are degrading and may be leaching chemicals into your food. Once you've purged your kitchen of old plastic food bins and cups, splurge on a replacement set made of glass.

LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE.
The longer food sits in plastic, the greater its time of exposure to chemicals that could migrate into it. If you must buy food in plastic - and it's hard not to - transfer it into a more food-friendly container once you get home.

WASH PLASTIC BY HAND.
"It only takes 20 washings in the dishwasher for BPA to start leaching," says vom Saal. Along with high heat, harsh detergents break down plastic as well. Wash your plastic containers, even those labeled "dishwasher safe," by hand in warm water and mild detergent.

READ THE LABEL.
While you'll never find an actual list of ingredients, many plastics come with labels of sorts: those triangles with numbers inside found on the bottom of plastic containers. The numbers you most want to avoid are 3, 6, and 7. The safest numbers are 1, 2, and 5 - the type of plastics used in most small water bottles and all soda bottles, yogurt containers, tubs of butter, and so on. (For more details, see "Plastic by the Numbers," below.) At the very least, look for brands billing themselves as "PVC-free."

BUY GLASS BOTTLES.
Some of the clear plastics, like baby bottles, are treated with bisphenol-A, to which infants are particularly vulnerable. "Using these bottles is like putting a serious drug into what the baby's drinking," says vom Saal. Look for glass baby bottles by Evenflo. And avoid drinking water from those five-gallon water jugs delivered to offices and homes, which also contain BPA. Opt instead for filtered water from the tap.

BUY IN BULK.
Health food stores are selling everything from pasta to tofu in bulk, and the plastic used to bag bulk products isn't known to be toxic, says Groth. To play it really safe, you can transfer your bagged items to glass containers at home.