vs Traditional?

Avoid toxins getting in your food using innovative food containers from Bioaware - instead of traditional plastic, glass or metal food containers. 

This section covers the top three health risks from using traditional plastic, glass and metal food containers - together with a way to avoid these risks.  The challenge with metal food containers, such as the tins sold in supermarkets containing canned vegetables, is that they often have a plastic liner.  These plastic liners are typically or often made of plastics that contain Bisphenol A.  An article in the Guardian newspaper dated 27 June 2019 "Ask the experts: do the plastic linings of tin food cans contain BPA?" answers their rhetorical question with a 'yes' and explains their triggering of obesity and human growth problems, especially around puberty.  

We draw the conclusion that for your health its best to store your food in toxin-free containers, with Bioaware's innovative polylactic acid (PLA) containers meeting this challenge. 

The answer the question "Can you list the health risks from old plastic and glass food containers - and know how to avoid them?": there are three key Health hazards from Glass, Plastic and Metal Food Containers, as now described, together with the way to avoid them.  

	Risk 1: Glass shards in your food.   The photograph shows a chip off from the edge of glass food storage containers.  Many of the resultant shards get into food and are eaten.  Often the edges are sharp so the shards cut and sometimes leave the digestive tract ending up lodged randomly in the body.   We inspected dozens of glass storage jars, finding that of those that had been used for over five years, finding that 20% of them had glass shards missing from the edges. Presumably roughly half of these end up in the food and thus get ingested.  An additional problem with such glass fragments in the body is that they are not readily visible on X-rays or other common types of medical imaging. Over 10% of physical contamination incidents reported to the UK's Foods Standard Agency (FSA) were a result of glass contamination.  FSA recall notices state that the presence of glass in food makes it unsafe to eat and presents a safety risk.
	Risk 2: Microplastics in your food.  This picture is part of the 'dishwasher safe' icon on a poly-propylene food storage box.  Our analysis shows that age and dishwashing cause the surface to  decompose into a white snow of plastic particles - that then get in your food.   Studies show that such plastic particles lodge in the liver and kidney  [1].  The term 'microplastics' is defined as any piece of plastic under 5mm in diameter.  A key characteristic of microplastics is that they do not readily break down into harmless molecules.
	Risk 3: Bisphenol-A (BPA) and its Substitutes in your food. BPA is one of the toxins that leaches out of plastics into food and from there into your body.  Although it does pass through the body it is associated with over twenty health problems including asthma, high blood pressure, allergies and heart disease [2][3].  Even if something is labelled as BPA, its substitutes,  such as BPS and BPF, are turning out to be similarly bad -  its only now that the longer term cumulative affects are becoming apparent.
	And How to Avoid Them: Use a highly biocompatible material for your food containers designed to be long life and practical. Bioaware's food containers are made of polylactic acid (PLA) which is highly biocompatible.  If any were to enter the body, natural enzymes dissolve the PLA turning it into lactic acid, which is common in many foods (such as yoghurt).

 

If you have plastic or glass storage containers then the evidence is that it is best not to use them to store food (use them for nuts and bolts, paints, shoe polish and so on).  At a minimum hand wash and avoid heat.   

References

[1] Deng, Y., Zhang, Y., Lemos, B. et al. "Tissue accumulation of microplastics in mice and biomarker responses suggest widespread health risks of exposure". Sci Rep 7, 46687 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46687 

[2] McCormick, "Evidence mounts on BPA’s adverse effects on human health", EDF Health, 26 Jan 2015

[3] Erler, C., Novak, J., "Bisphenol A Exposure: Human Risk and Health Policy", Journal of Pediatric Nursing, Vol 25, Issue 5, P400-407, 1 Oct 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2009.05.006