noisebeam

I won't serve my child food from microwaved plastic, but I'll cheat for myself sometimes.
I did recommend earlier dumping contents from leak proof container into dishes. I carry liquid and semi solid food in a Nalgene in backpack.

noglider 

@RubeRad:

Gluten is not bad for most people.

MSG is not bad for you at all.

We don't know for sure about plastic but it seems like a bad risk. I like breaking rules, but when you've had cancer in your family, it makes sense to be cautious, even if it may not be necessary.

I eat food that some consider spoiled, with no ill effects, so you know I'm not a vociferant rule follower.

RubeRad

So we have a lot in common (we knew that already), but have made different judgments about whether microwave plastic cancer risk is an urban myth or an open question. Here's Harvard with some more information about what it takes to get FDA approval for a "microwave safe" label.

acidfast7

I just make sure my plastic is BPA-free and then I don't worry.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/collectio...-food-storage/

I'll probably die from the copious number of pints that I drink rather than a tinge a BPA that's in my container.

I'm willing to take that risk.

noglider 

Thanks, @RubeRad.

RubeRad

I like to drink my IPAs out of BPA -- gives it that extra, je ne se quois, Tang?

The tingle is how you know it's working!

Darth Lefty 

I'm planning to find out whether my hereditary heart problems kill me before coronary artery disease, personally. It's what's inside the container...

Actual conversation with my wife:
"Has this yogurt gone bad?"
"Yes, that is how it became yogurt."
"Can you smell it?"
"No."

jetta_mike

I freeze all my work meals. The two major benefits are no need for ice packs and nothing ever leaks.

panzerwagon 

The aforementioned pyrex glass dishes with snapware lids work best for me. These are the ones sold at costco in the US. Although they are also available in plastic dishes, I prefer glass for the several reasons.

• As others have already mentioned, microwaving in glass is much safer than plastic. I like to use higher levels of heat for some foods.
• Eating with a fork causes thousands of tiny little nicks and scratches in plastic which end up harboring bacteria if not properly sanitized-- glass is the obvious choice.
• The lids have never leaked for me, except when I failed to properly inspect and clean the rubber seal inside the lid to ensure it remains free of debris/food particles prior to closing.
• Over time, plastic tends to retain a faint stench from previous contents. I can only imagine the tiny nicks and scratches over time greatly exacerbating this.

For extra insurance, I try to keep food in my handlebar bag so things remain relatively upright and always use an extra plastic bag as backup. Worst-case, my old cannondale bar bag can be easily dismantled and thrown in the washer.

no motor?

We know BPA is bad for you because it's been studied, but the chemicals that have replaced it haven't been studied to that extent and the public is being used as test cases for the long term effects now.

noglider 

This reinforces my decision not to heat food in plastic. I also avoid eating from it when it's reasonably convenient to do so.

vol

Collapsible silicone containers, microwavable, space-saving, such as this.

pdlamb

I still remember the day in elementary school when somebody apparently knocked my lunchbox off the shelf and put it back. When I opened my thermos bottle, it was broken and my soup had glass shards all mixed in. I was devastated.

So microwaving plastics might leach some kind of chemical that might (or might not) cause cancer, in some number of decades, into my food? I'll be happy to eat glass-free food and take the risk that it might give me cancer before something else kills me. At my age, that seems like a safe bet.

rumrunn6

hmmm. middle school, while sharing a table w friends, I inadvertently reached over a classmate's tray to get something. he accused me of a sleeve touching his food & insisted I get him a new tray of food. I laughed it off, but then wound up w his tray of food on my lap. had to spend the rest of the day wearing a spare shirt my best friend loaned me, but it was two sizes too small & looked ridiculous. I did not intend to disrespect that other guy but he felt slighted. as juveniles, we were just immature enough not to know how to handle the situation. but I distinctly remember one of our teachers remarking that I reminded him of Clint Eastwood, w/ steely resolve. did I even know what that meant? if he had not said that would I have gotten another tray? anyway, I think that other kid eventually got expelled for other stuff. but after that, I was certainly more careful about reaching over or around anyone else. if it happened today, I would have no problem getting a new tray of food. good luck to kids in schools, nowadays ...

no motor?

To each their own. I've brought my lunch to work for years, and rarely will warm it.

acidfast7

I'm a microbiologist and would like to know your evidence for this?

acidfast7

Basically, I find glass dirty to make, transport and recycle. I don't see any advantage to glass/wood over plastic especially in home usage (in durable goods).

panzerwagon 

Two pieces of info here:

1. Eating out of plastic causes thousands of nick and scratches. Source: I have eaten out of many plastic containers over my lifetime. Whilst I haven't actually counted the number of scratches, there appear to be many many of them, and they tend to grow more numerous with time.
2. Scratches in reusable containers tend to encourage formation of biofilms. Source: Multiple sources can be found online, but here's one that implies that conclusion: https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jfr/article/view/43221

I do share your distaste for glass production and use due to environmental concerns. I'm glad to report that I've never broken a single pyrex container despite numerous small drops and bumps in my pannier bags. Thus, I'm hoping there is no further environmental impact from me :-D
Having said that, I've probably jinxed myself and something will happen on my ride home today :-(

acidfast7

Thanks for the citation.

But, every time your transport that Pyrex/Ceran container that weighs more there's an impact, at least as significant as biofilms. My GI tract is loaded as is any surface that is in contact with the environment.

I think we think that same way, but I feel that exposing people to microbes is a very good thing and that people should eb continuously exposed. Thus, I consider enhanced biofilm growth as irrelevant especially compared to any bike surface which is much more coated.

acidfast7

Even the dining implement will be coated? So, what's the big deal?

RubeRad

Your graph is analyzing beverage bottles, which get destroyed and remanufactured for every retail sale, but for the purposes of this discussion, we're talking about storage containers which might see from just a couple uses (new-style reusable/disposable 'GladWare'-style retail packaging) to many decades (Tupperware or Pyrex). I have to think that the longevity of glass is an environmental/sustainability advantage here.

Also in your graph, what does that largest component 'Packaging' mean? Running industrial machinery to automatically sanitize, fill, seal, label and pack for shipping? None of that applies for home leftover use, except water and energy involved in hand- or machine-washing, and use of detergent.

panzerwagon 

I'm one of those old kooks in my office who keeps a complete placement of stainless cutlery at work because he refuses to eat with plastic like the other peasants :-D

acidfast7

Yeah. Stainless will be biofilm coated as there's no way that a standard dishwasher and soap removes a biofilm from stainless. Also, does anyone eat with plastic? Our workplace provide stainless cutlery and ceramic plates for all.
​​​​​​
Silver or gold would be more microbe-resistant, which probably helped a long time ago.

I just submitted a paper about silver nanowires against MRSA this week.





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Darth Lefty 

RubeRad

My work provides plastic 'cutlery', but I'm one of those cheap kooks that keeps a couple complete placements of stainless cutlery at work because he refuses to throw away single-use plastic like the other consumeristic drones.

FWIW (not much, I'm sure) I am more annoyed by upstream inefficiency (materials, energy, labor, transport, money) than downstream (landfills). Maybe nowadays typical plastic forks and spoons are biodegradable, I don't know. But why waste so much effort in the meantime?

I also keep a 6" ceramic chef's knife (like $10 from harbor freight) and flexible (nearly disposable) plastic cutting board at work. Comes in handy all the time. And I've developed a napkin-free methodology for slicing and eating mangoes at my desk.