Shopper's Guide to Plastics and Food

Cheese, deli sandwiches and vegetables swathed in cling wrap; meat and poultry on Styrofoam trays; hummus, tofu, ice cream and margarine in plastic cartons; supermarket breads, cookies, cakes: Every day, most of us eat food that has come into contact with plastic. And as most of us have learned by the age of two, you're supposed to eat the food, not the wrapper. Yet an advertisement from the American Plastics Council calls plastics "an important part of your healthy diet," noting "you could think of them as the sixth basic food group." While the ad means to draw attention to plastic's widespread use in food packaging, it ironically echoes recent studies showing that some plastic packaging does leave residues of chemicals on foods stored or heated in it. In some cases, these chemicals have been linked to cancers and abnormal sexual development in animals. Although such scientific evidence doesn't yet exist for all plastics, and all plastics used in contact with food have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), little research has been done. Until we have more information on the effects of long-term exposure to all chemicals that migrate, or leach, from plastics into food, consumers may want to take general precautions, while avoiding those plastics that have been linked to health problems.

"I wouldn't want anyone I cared about to eat plastic chemicals in food. It's as disgusting as plastic slipcovers," says Joan Dineen, an architect, interior designer and mother of two in New York City, who called for more information after reading about leaching plastics in The Green Guide. Happily, as Joan learned, you can avoid problem plastics by making only a few simple changes to your daily routine. Safer choices, both plastic and non-plastic, are readily available. These choices are compiled in this Shopper's Guide to Plastics and Food, produced in response to the many calls and letters from concerned consumers to The Green Guide over the years. To help you make safer choices, this Guide shows how to distinguish different types of plastic by number, product type and, in some cases, brand name. It also discusses the harmful environmental impacts of plastic, which is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and is not readily recyclable. Non-plastic food storage alternatives, such as glass, are recommended whenever possible. For details on scientific studies, see References.