Styrofoam Packaging Fast food package, store leftover restaurants and wrap a variety of food ready to eat at food restaurants. People tend to think of the squeaky white component used to make disposable beverage containers when they think of Styrofoam when, in fact, the name of Styrofoam covers some types of transparent plastic containers as well. The name Styrofoam is actually a trademark Vulgarizada owned by Dow Chemical Company for its range of Styrofoam packaging of food. People in another country often know the material just as polystyrene.
What is Styrofoam
Do you know? Styrofoam or polystyrene is a rigid vinyl polymer used in an almost endless list of products, including food packaging, manufacturing, insulation, and emergency buoyancy aids. The Styrofoam contains thousands of small pieces of plastic bound together with free radical vinyl polymerization, a chemical reaction used in the making of many plastics. You will most likely keep in touch with Styrofoam products on a daily basis.
The myth
People who care about the microwave polystyrene packaging chemicals fear that polystyrene leaching food and pose a health hazard. It’s true–many plastics are inadequate for microwave use because they transfer dangerous levels of chemicals into the food. Nevertheless, most of these types of plastics are used outside the food industry and don’t come into contact with food. Concerns often place the transfer of phthalates, chemical compounds known to cause reproductive problems in animals, and dioxin, a known carcinogen, as a health risk associated with Styrofoam’s microwave. Phthalates were restricted from food packaging in the 1980 decade, and dioxin is not present in safe microwave containers approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Microwave safe
Some, but not all, polystyrene foam types are suitable for microwave use. The best way to stay safe is to read all the instructions printed on the package. If the container says it is suitable for single use, do not repeatedly microwave the plastic. Polystyrene foam products that the FDA considered safe through food tests usually carry the “Microwave safe ” label.
Precautions
It is always better to be cautious when it comes to microwaving plastics of any kind. Containers that do not have the “Microwave safe” label are not intrinsic insecure; The FDA has simply not tested the products. American Plastics tips say that some unlabeled containers are made from safe microwave plastics, but could be a risk of melting due to thin walls. If you are unsure, transfer your food to a microwave-safe ceramic container or another container.
