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Subject: Plastic Wrap Toxins (Please read this)
As a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that
di(ethylhexyl)adepate (DEHA), considered a carcinogen, is found in
plastic wrap. She also learned that the FDA had never studied the
effect of microwave cooking on plastic-wrapped food. Claire began to
wonder: "Can cancer-causing particles seep into food covered with
household plastic wrap while it is being micro waved?"
Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science
teacher, Claire set out to test what the FDA had not. Although she had
an idea for studying the effect of microwave radiation on
plastic-wrapped food, she did not have the equipment. Eventually, Jon
Wilkes at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson,
Arkansas, agreed to help her.
The research center, which is affiliated with the FDA, let her use
facilities to perform her experiments, which involved microwaving
plastic wrap in virgin olive oil. Claire tested four different plastic
wraps and "found not just the carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was
migrating intothe oil].. Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts
in men and to breast cancer in women.
Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of
trips each week to the research center, which was 25 miles from her
home, to work on her experiment. An article in Options reported that
"her analysis found that DEHA was migrating into the oil at between
200 parts and 500 parts per million. The FDA standard is 0.05 parts
per billion." Her summarized results have been published in science
journals. Claire Nelson received the American Chemical Society's top
science prize for students during her junior year and fourth place at
the International Science and Engineering Fair (Fort Worth,Texas) as a
senior. "Carcinogens -- At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" Options May
2000. Published by People Against Cancer, 515-972-4444.
On Channel 2 (Huntsville, AL) this morning they had a Dr. Edward
Fujimoto from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the
Wellness Program at the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how
bad they are for us.
He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave
using plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He
said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases
dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the
body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our
bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic
containers for heating food. You get the same results without the
dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramin and soups, etc.,
should be removed from the container and heated in something
else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. Just
safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He said we might
remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the
foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Pass this on to your family and friends....
To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked,
with high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Use
paper towel instead.
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Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Microwaving Plastics: Example