Health problems in plastic bags

The General Office of the State Council recently issued the Notice on Restricting Production and Sales of Plastic Shopping Bags to the people's governments of various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and ministries and commissions of the State Council. The notice pointed out that since June 1, 2008, the system of paid use of plastic shopping bags has been implemented in all retail outlets such as supermarkets, shopping malls, and bazaars, and no plastic shopping bags will be provided free of charge.

Plastic bags are easy to use and penetrate all aspects of our daily lives. Plastic bags, while providing convenience, not only affect the environment but also endanger our health. Serving foods in plastic bags is likely to cause toxins in the body.

â–  Health hazards in plastic bags

Polyvinyl chloride: After polyvinyl chloride monomer is absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, part of it is discharged through the respiratory tract and the other part is decomposed into ethanol and monochloroacetic acid. These substances can have toxic effects on the nervous system, bones, and liver, leading to the occurrence of angiosarcoma. Ethanol can damage human nerves, causing dizziness, vertigo, and even serious cancer.

Lead stearate: Lead stearate is a stabilizer for polyvinyl chloride plastic bags. Lead at high temperature will dissolve into the food. Lead stearate is easily precipitated and it can cause accumulated lead poisoning once it enters the body. These toxic substances are eaten with food and are harmful to human health.

Phthalates: Phthalates, which are called phthalates, are additives for plastics processes. They are mainly used to increase the flexibility of plastic products. A small amount of human exposure can be harmful. Phthalates are low-toxic chemicals that damage the central nervous system and liver. Plastic processing technology will not be used in large doses, and phthalates must be freed to release toxic monomers when heated at high temperatures. Qualified plastic products will not cause any harm to human body. The hazards are mostly present in the production process. .

Compounding agents: In order to increase the transparency and elasticity, a certain amount of plasticizer is added to the PVC cling film. After a long time of wrapping, the fat in the food easily dissolves harmful substances in the plastic wrap, and when heated, the combined chemical agent in the plasticizer is accelerated into the food. These compounds will destroy the body's endocrine system, disturb the normal hormone metabolism of the human body. After eating, it will cause women's breast cancer, birth defects in newborns, reduced sperm count in men, and even mental illnesses.

â–  It's best not to use plastic bags to hold food directly

Medical experts pointed out that foods, especially cooked foods, are often susceptible to deterioration after being packaged in plastic bags. People who eat such deteriorated foods are prone to cause food poisoning such as vomiting and diarrhea. In addition, the plastic itself will release harmful gases, due to long-term accumulation in the sealed bag, the concentration increases with the sealing time, resulting in the food in the bag is subject to different levels of pollution, especially the impact on children's health and development.

Plastic bags are mostly recycled plastic products. Insiders pointed out that the vast majority of plastic bags sold and used in the market today are produced by small-scale enterprises or home-based workshops. A considerable number of them are recycled plastic products, waste plastics, industrial wastes, and medical institutions that are collected by garbage collection stations. The discarded plastic garbage is recycled and processed, and if it is not disinfected, it is processed into a food bag in private and put into the market. These recycled plastics contain bacteria and carcinogens that are severely over-specified. Packing cooked foods that are directly imported into such plastic products will have extremely serious consequences for consumers' health.

Colored plastic bags are harmful. First of all, colored plastic bags contain more organic dyes, such as various aromatics, which have a certain impact on human health. Secondly, non-ferrous plastic bags are mostly reprocessed from recycled plastic products. Because of the large amount of impurities in recycled materials, manufacturers have to add pigments to cover them. These chemical substances are extremely harmful to the human body and cannot be used to contain directly imported foods.

Regular consumption of foods in plastic bags can cause chronic poisoning. At present, many plastic bags are made of polyvinyl chloride. The plastic bags containing polyvinyl chloride will release a variety of toxic substances when exposed to high temperatures. When the temperature exceeds 50°C, toxic components in the plastic bag will seep out, contaminating the food and causing damage to the human body. When the temperature reaches 80°C, it will melt with heat and release poisonous substances. The temperature of the hot (cooked) food was above 40°C. The temperature of the fresh-fried dough sticks and the freshly-baked soybean milk was about 90°C. With the increase of temperature, the toxic substances in plastic bags are intensified, and they are easily absorbed by food and enter the abdomen of the eater. After a long time, they will cause chronic poisoning.

â– How to choose a plastic bag that can hold food

In order to effectively reduce the hazards of using plastic products, caution should be used when using plastic products such as food bags.

When purchasing foods such as cooked food, snacks, etc., it is best to bring your own tableware or standard plastic food bags. Buy standard plastic food bags, it is best to go to a regular shopping mall to buy well-known brand products, product packaging bags should have Chinese logo, marked with the name of the factory, site and implementation of standards. At the same time, frozen and frozen foods in the refrigerator should also be wrapped in plastic wrap or plastic bags instead of ordinary plastic bags.

Disable colored plastic bags to hold food directly.

Consumers can use the following methods to identify whether plastic food bags are hazardous. Generally harmless plastic bags are milky white, translucent or colorless and transparent; there is flexibility, lubrication when the hand touch, the surface seems to have wax, flammable in case of fire, can continue to burn after leaving the fire, no odor.