A Time Bomb in the Kitchen !

The age of plastics expanded dramatically from the 1950's.   The number of plastic items in the average household grew exponentially from that time.  It was the wonder product of the " throw away " age and today we find it in various forms surrounding most of the merchandise we buy.

Initially, it was thought to be harmless to our health until  science pointed the finger at Bisphenol A - or BPA as it is known - which is an ingredient in many plastic bottles and food packaging.  The boffins discovered that BPA had a detrimental effect on  human sperm counts and it is a fact that in the western world sperm counts have decreased by sixty percent in recent years.

There was an instant reaction from the food industry.  Today many plastic products are clearly labelled " BPA free " and that particular chemical has been replaced by variations known as BPS, BPF and BPAF, all of which are deemed to be safe for humans.

Now concern has been voiced about these replacement chemicals.  Laboratory experiments have revealed that mice, zebrafish, rats and human cells are affected by these replacement chemicals and some of the possible side effects are alarming.  It seems that they are linked to penis defects and the shrinking of penis sizes.

Of course this has yet to be genetically proven, but one of the test outcomes suggests that age may be the pivot point of when plastics move from inert to potentially harmful.  The danger seems to arise when plastic items start to show their age by becoming brittle or the surface degenerates to the point of flaking.  This form of contamination provides the bridge to the human body.

It seems that this link was discovered by pure accident.  When scientists in a laboratory noticed that the egg cells in juvenile rats did not look right they began looking for a cause.   All the tests came up negative - until someone thought to look at their cages and discovered the plastic was showing signs of wear. Small slivers were breaking off and getting into their food.

The danger to the average household seems to be storage containers made of plastic that may have been giving service for years.  They need to be carefully examined for ageing, and if showing even the slightest defect - promptly discarded.   Any plastic product produced before 1998 would be very suspect because the Bisphenol A contamination was only discovered in that era.

The major portion of plastic used in food packaging today serves to get the  product from the store to your home and is discarded in the early stages of meal preparation.  Perhaps now is a good time to carefully examine the average kitchen for whatever plastic fittings it contains.  How old are they ?  And what is their condition ?

Plastic was once the wonder product.  Like all new inventions, the defects only become obvious over the passage of time.