One of the very bad habits that every housewife seems to have is using plastic bags for fresh food right after buying it from the store.
Put food in plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator - Habit of many housewives
It can be said that in today's modern life, convenience in consumption and living is always appreciated. One of the indispensable items is disposable plastic. A typical example of this kind of plastic is the plastic bag.
Perhaps, there is never a matter of stepping into a restaurant to buy food or shopping for clothes, shoes... that you do not use plastic bags to store. After paying for the goods, you will be allowed to put the goods you buy into a plastic bag of some kind.
There are no words to describe the convenience with super cheap price of plastic bags. With a low price, it can hold many different large and small items, so the purchase volume for bag consumption is also large.
Especially for sellers, no one has the time to think about bags made of this material or that material to store the goods they sell to customers, for example, cloth bags, paper bags...
Plastic bags with different thicknesses depending on the needs, both cheap for sellers and convenient for shoppers, is a perfect choice.
Because it's cheap, because it's convenient, plastic bags are being used rampantly and improperly. In the immediate future, this type of bag poses the problem of environmental pollution.
Next are the health risks from the plastic that makes up the plastic bag that can contaminate the contents in it, here we talk about food.
One of the extremely bad habits that every housewife seems to have is using plastic bags for fresh food right after buying it from the store, or harvesting vegetables and fruits right at home but not cooking them. Immediately close the plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for later use.
Wrong thinking about how to use the refrigerator, entrusting everything to the refrigerator like today makes consumers sick.
Storing foods properly is very important to keep them safe for processing and consumption.
If you eat improperly stored food, either before or after it's cooked, there is the potential for illness. Plastic bags in general contain dangerous chemicals.
Many studies confirm that plastic bags threaten human life
Research by the University of Pennsylvania (USA) shows that storing food in plastic bags or plastic bags in general can cause health hazards in terms of chemical composition: BPA and DEHP. BPA has been linked to obesity and larger waistlines in children and adolescents.
According to the National Toxicological Research Program (NTP) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), BPA also affects the brain, slowing growth, causing hepatitis, endocrine disorders and infertility. born. It is also a highly carcinogenic substance.
According to the American Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, plastic bags are made from high-density polyethylene or low-density polyethylene and are usually coded with a number 2 or 4 label.
When food is stored in plastic bags, these chemicals can leach into the food and then be absorbed into the body, even with food wraps.
Over time the chemicals in plastic bags cause tissue changes, genetic damage, chromosomal errors, miscarriage, birth defects, early puberty and hormonal changes.
In children, chemicals contained in plastic bags can damage the immune system and stimulate disruption of behavioral, cognitive problems, etc.
The studies of scientists from the past to now have always been a wake-up call about limiting the use of plastic bags as little as possible, but it seems that these are still not enough to make consumers awake.
Especially the habit of storing food in plastic bags and then throwing it in the refrigerator to use it gradually, it seems that everyone does it this way. Will putting food in plastic bags and putting them in the fridge will reduce or increase the risk of these dreaded diseases?
Keeping food in plastic bags pressed into the refrigerator increases the possibility of illness from plastic bags
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh (former lecturer at Institute of Food and Biotechnology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology), putting food in a plastic bag before putting it in the refrigerator is very good because it does not remove odors and stains. smell in the refrigerator.
For example, peeled jackfruit and durian without putting it in a plastic bag before placing it in the refrigerator will have a strong, unpleasant smell for many days afterward.
“However, the use of plastic bags for wrapping and wrapping food in general will lead to the possibility of contaminating food, harming health when we absorb it into the body.
The best way is that we should not store plastic wrapped food in the refrigerator for a long time. Because at that time, the plastic has a higher ability to dissolve, especially for products containing water, salt, acids, and fats," said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh.
According to him, if properly used plastic items in general will be very good, ensuring convenience and convenience for you. Unfortunately, the state's management mechanism is still very lax, unable to control the production and use of plastic products, which can lead to health consequences.
“The type of plastic bag that is more secure than any other bag is a plastic bag made from transparent plastic. And if we use blue, red, yellow ... or opaque white bags to pack food or anything else, it is not healthy.
And no matter what kind of plastic bag or any kind of plastic, we should not abuse it."
According to Mr. Thinh, plastic bags bought at the market, especially those with blue and red colors, are actually bags that are not used to store food or put in the refrigerator.
“This is a bag made from recycled plastic, which has toxins, the ability to stop poisoning, making them soak into food is inevitable. If food is cooked, wet, salted, or fatty, stored in these bags and then refrigerated, the risk is even greater.
The plastic used to make this bag is a recycled plastic with many harmful substances, including recycled plastic and substances of unknown origin, mixed in for recycling.
This expert added, the type of food wrap made of PE plastic, which is considered to be of guaranteed quality, should not be abused because there is still a risk of contaminating food.
We should use up after putting food in the refrigerator 1-2 times. Pulling out and then wrapping plastic bags to put them in again and again also causes bacteria to multiply quickly, this is not only the ability to stop infection but also the food itself is invaded by bacteria.
“The soft, transparent PE film used to be praised in food safety is now absolutely safe, the answer is no.
Even the types of pottery and porcelain that we think are safe, actually they have a lot of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper and even mercury ... stored for a long time will be contaminated, causing the body to eat and drink. metal contamination.
If they are not much, they will be eliminated by the body, if they are heavy, they have to go to detox. Saying that so we know that plastic bags, plastic in general or anything that makes life more comfortable has its downsides and consumers must know how to use it intelligently. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh said.
