Chemical experts yesterday urged the public not to use plastic wrap made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), because oily or hot foods wrapped in that material could absorb potentially harmful plasticizer chemicals.
Academics and experts told a panel discussion on food safety that merely avoiding food and beverages recently identified as containing harmful plasticizers did not mean people were completely safe from the chemicals.
The food scare of the past three weeks brought to public attention food and other products, including supplements, sports drinks and beverages, that contain chemicals such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, and diisononyl phthalate, or DINP.
Lab tests have confirmed that DEHP and DINP have been used as a substitute for more expensive ingredients in a common food -additive called a clouding agent.
PVC packaging, which has been shown to also contain DEHP, has come under scrutiny over fears of contamination.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an institution under the WHO that coordinates and conducts research on the causes of cancer, has concluded there is “inadequate evidence” regarding the carcinogenicity of DEHP. However, some experts have suggested that exposure to DEHP can cause a decrease in sperm production.
Chen Mei-lien (陳美蓮), a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at National Yang Ming University, said she found that plastic wrap and food containers made with PVC could cause DEHP to leach into food at levels as high as 7.27mg per kilogram of food.
DEHP can leach into oily foods. Covering food with plastic wrap while heating it in a microwave or other heating device could cause even more DEHP to be transferred into the food, she said.
Chen said most people were under the false impression that plastic containers would only leach harmful chemicals if hot food or liquids were contained in them.
This is wrong, because oily foods, even at 25°C, can be contaminated by harmful chemicals leaching into them from plastic containers, Chen said.
She urged authorities to regulate the use of PVC-based plastic wrap, which is not currently banned under health and safety regulations and therefore could be used by consumers who are unaware of the potential hazards of such products.
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