Strollerderby
They Say: "Microwave Safe" Ain’t
If you’re the type to be suspicious of chemicals and corporations, and especially their mixture, this will likely not surprise you:
A team of investigative journalists from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did one of those surprisingly simple things that we love real, honest-to-god investigative journalists for: an experiment. Specifically, they took 10 items marked with the comforting phrase “microwave safe” that were likely to be ingested by children or used for children’s food (several were actually baby food, one was formula), heated them (in both a microwave and an oven), and had the contents tested for bisphenol-A (BPA).
(If you’ve been under a rock, BPA is the hormone-like substance that everyone from the Canadian government to Wal-Mart have been all freaked out about getting out of baby bottles recently, on account of it’s been shown to do nasty things to neurological development and also cause pre-cancerous changes to mammary glands and other fun stuff at super low levels.)
I think you can tell where this is headed: All of the food had levels of BPA that were shown in lab tests to be problematic. The food in the Rubbermaid all-purpose container and the infant formula had the highest levels. So much for worrying about the bottles themselves. The article estimates how much an average kid might be ingesting per day, and it ain’t pretty.
The manufacturers’ response, of course, is to say it’s just a tiny amount and won’t hurt you. The FDA says “What they said” and goes back to buffing up an 8-year-old resume. There are (prepare to be shocked now) apparently no standards whatsoever behind the designation “microwave safe.” If the container doesn’t blow up, which would presumably generate complaints if not any regulatory action, then it can be labeled zappable.
This was one of those stories I almost didn’t read, because I am (1) predisposed by my environmental studies background to be veeeerrrry skeptical of claims that strange chemicals are harmless and (2) completely and utterly dependent on my microwave. I’m sure as hell not going to put a pan on the stove every time I need to heat up a quarter cup of frozen peas or leftover lentil soup for my daughter.
I had been comforting myself with the vapid mneumonic that Real Money readers came up with a while back about the better and worse plastics (“1, 2, 4, 5 will keep you alive; 3, 6, 7 will send you straight to heaven.” Yes, I am embarrassed that I remember it), but the infuriatingly thorough MSJ notes that BSA was leaching from no.s 1, 2, and 5 as well. Great.
I guess this is where I consider dropping the plastic bowls when microwaving is needed and hoping my toddler doesn’t shatter enough of our motley assortment of ceramic ones to constitute its own safety hazard. The plastic is still going in the dishwasher though. I know my limits.
More by this author:
Go Back To Strollerderby
5 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amThe microwave is such a fixture in our lives, I think it made sense to test heating bottles and baby food in the microwave. Yes, you’re not supposed to do it, but I bet a lot of people do anyway because it’s just so convenient.
I remember, in my younger days, microwaving something in a plastic bowl, marveling at the melted plastic on the container, and then eating the food inside without hesitation. Sigh.
Right now our microwave is broken and I’m missing it terribly.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amWho heats baby formula in a plastic container in a microwave? Everyone knows you dont heat it in the microwave it creates hot spots. You use warm water and mix it in the bottle. I worried about leaching even then at lukewarm temps. I haven’t microwaved a plastic container in over ten years at our house. I take the food out of the plastic container, place it in a glass container and heat. That was how I heated my baby bottle water too. After a few weeks she usually took it room temp anyways. I have a degree in chemistry. I would never heat a plastic container and not expect some of the container to not leach into the food especially fatty foods like milk and cheese.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amDitto the glass containers. I have some from Rubbermaid. They’re thick, not prone to breakage, good for storing, heating and serving.
What gets me is how many years I have been ignorant of the whole heating plastic danger. Let’s just hope I haven’t already given myself cancer.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI bought some glass storage containers at Crate and Barrel in an assortment of sizes. They have plastic lids, but I take those off before microwaving. I love them, and it saves a step in the prep process. You can store and heat in one container, and transfer them to a cooler container for baby.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amThis doesn’t surprise me. We try to avoid both plastic and the microwave when possible. Otherwise I heat up their food in a glass bowl and then transfer it to two stainless steel or plastic bowls. Little pyrex bowls are also not very fragile if you don’t want to use too many bowls. I never used bottles for my kids, but I thought that the baby formula wasn’t supposed to be heated in the microwave anyway? I remember reading something about uneven heating.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.