Plastics
Avoid plastics when possible:
- Buy and store food in glass, ceramic or metal?? containers, as most plastic types have been reported to leak chemicals into food.
- Shop with cloth grocery bags.
- Choose fresh, frozen and dried foods over those that are canned. (Metal cans are lined with plastic.)
- If possible, for wrapped foods, choose butcher paper, waxed paper or cellulose bags.
- When purchasing cling-wrapped foods from the supermarket or deli, slice off a thin layer where the food came into contact with the plastic and store the rest in a glass or ceramic container, or non-PVC cling wrap.
- Purchase toys made from natural materials. Avoid toys and teethers made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and baby bottles made of polycarbonate plastic. These plastics contain particularly harmful chemicals.
- Instead of buying water in plastic bottles, test your tap water and use an appropriate water filter if necessary.
- Avoid vinyl and fake leather (PVC) products.
- Do not buy cosmetics that contain phthalates (a harmful plasticizer) or fragrances (which often contain phthalates), especially nail polish, perfumes, lipstick and hairspray.
- Avoid dental sealants, which may contain the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A, for children's baby teeth.
Know the least toxic plastic alternatives
Often found on the bottom of plastic bottles, other containers, and shopping bags, the numbers (1-7) and letters shown with the chasing-arrows "recycling" symbol mean the following:
Less Toxic
- #1. PETE or PET (polyethylene terephthalate): used for most clear beverage bottles.
- #2. HDPE (high density polyethylene): used for "cloudy" milk and water jugs, opaque food bottles.
- #4. LDPE (low density polyethylene): used in food storage bags and some "soft" bottles.
- #5. PP (polypropylene): used in rigid containers, including some baby bottles, and some cups and bowls.
Avoid Use
- #3. PVC or V (polyvinyl chloride, vinyl): used in some cling wraps (especially commercial brands), some "soft" bottles. Contains plasticizers (phthalates and DEHA).
- #6. PS (polystyrene, styrofoam): used in foam "clam-shell"-type containers, meat and bakery trays, and in its rigid form, clear take-out containers, some plastic cutlery and cups. Made from styrene and P-nonylphenol, both suspected endocrine disruptors. Polystyrene may leach styrene into food it comes into contact with.
- #7. Other (usually polycarbonate): used in 5-gallon water bottles, some baby bottles, some metal can linings. Polycarbonate can release its primary building block, bisphenol A, another suspected hormone disruptor, into liquids and food. — checnet.org
Be safe in the kitchen:
- Do not heat plastics, especially if they contain fatty foods. Heating fatty food in plastics can cause greater leaching.
- Microwave in glass or ceramic only. Do not use plastic wraps.
- Use stainless steel, instead of plastic cutlery and dinnerware.
- If using plastic storage containers, make sure hot food items have cooled before placing them in the container.