|
Disposable plastic food containers, by and large, comply with food-safety standards and should pose no health risk in normal usage, according to a Consumer Council test.
The council and the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department jointly conducted the test in September this year with samples from a diverse range of eateries, convenience or take-away food outlets and school lunch-box suppliers.
The majority of these disposable plastic food containers are made of expanded polystyrene, commonly called foam boxes, followed by polypropylene. The rest were made of polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate.
Tests were conducted on the samples to detect the potential presence of heavy metals and residual styrene monomer - a substance that may cause cancer in people, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Within safety standards
To determine the suitability of the use of the disposable containers, the council conducted more tests to examine the level of chemical transfer that might take place while the container was in contact with different types of food under different conditions.
On the suspected carcinogen, residual styrene monomer, the level detected ranged from zero to 0.047% by weight - far below the 0.5% limit the US Food & Drug Administration stipulates.
On heavy metals, all samples were found to fall within the safety level of the relevant GB Standards, the Mainland's national standard.
The tests demonstrate polystyrene containers are safe for use provided the food temperature does not exceed 100 degrees Celsius. In normal conditions, the container concerned was not used for hot food but for hot dogs or similar food items. Therefore, there is no food safety concern.
Advice to consumers
The council gives consumers and food suppliers the following advice:
* use disposable containers with good heat resistance property, such as polypropylene containers, to hold acidic and fatty foods with temperatures of 120 degree Celsius;
* avoid putting hot food into plastic containers too early to reduce the possibility of melting and having chemical transfer;
* expanded polystyrene food containers should not be used in microwave ovens to reheat take-away food, microwave oven safe containers should be used instead;
* do not reuse a disposable microwave-safe plastic container in a microwave oven as it may be designed to be used only once.
The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will issue guidelines to the food trade on the use of disposable plastic containers.
Go To Top
|
