Plastic box or a death trap? Find out if your tiffins are safe to use!

Zee Media Bureau

Do you pack your child's school lunch in a plastic tiffin box? Do you also store your leftover food in plastic containers? If your answer falls in the positive category, then this one's for you.

You are probably aware of the dangers that the use of plastic can pose to your health, however, you somehow reason it out with yourself, asking yourself how bad can it be?

The answer to your question is, “extremely bad”, if not worse. The amount of chemicals present in plastic seep their way into your food and are responsible for maximum damage to your health, while also bearing the tendency to become carcinogenic.

Like the American novelist Normal Mailer once said in the year 1983, “I sometimes think that there is a malign force loose in the universe that is the social equivalent of cancer, and it’s plastic. It infiltrates everything. It’s metastasis. It gets into every single pore of productive life.”

We know the usual argument which reasons why no one creates a fuss about plastic when it's a part of cars, computers, mobile phones, children's toys, etc. The fact is, plastic becomes dangerous when its harmful chemicals get access to the food and water that we consume on a daily basis. This happens, when we use plastic as a means of storage for food and also use plastic containers while heating our food.

However, if you still need some convincing, below are a few reasons explaining why you need to avoid plastic containers and/or plastic tiffins. Have a look!

1. Toxic sickness:

Plastic is very much a result of many toxic compunds combined together to give you a death box – oops! – a container. This compounds leach into your food, every time it comes in contact with plastic, which over time accumulates into serious health issues.

2. No such thing as safe plastic:

Yes, your trustworthy plastic containers may not be very trustworthy after all! A report has, of late, been doing the rounds that plastics contain a super toxic compound by the name of bisphenol-A (BPA). Consumers have been fooled into believing that a “BPA-free” product is perfectly safe. Reality check - they aren't. Even if it is BPA-free, this means that most companies are using BPS, that may be equally toxic! BPS mimics estrogen, which is probably just as unhealthy for us as the BPA that its replacing. Of course, not all BPA-free products contain BPS, but the issue here is that there’s no way to know which ones to avoid.

3. Fertility and reproductive problems:

Toxic chemicals in plastics have a negative effect on immunity and hormone regulation, both of which directly impact fertility. BPA, specifically, has been found to make conceiving more difficult for women and give rise to risk of miscarriages. New research is also showing that toxins found in plastic can cause birth defects and developmental problems in children.

4. Obesity:

Obesity is slowly becoming an increasing health issue in India. The use of too much plastic could be a reason. Interesting new research published in Environmental Health Perspectives explains that a chemical widely used in plastics, called bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), may actually cause stem cells to transform into fat cells.

Things you can use as storage instead of plastic:

1. Glass containers and water bottles

2. Stainless steel containers

3. Alternative to non-stick cookware (in case you weren't aware, the non-stick coating on your pan can also be plastic)