4 ms·

Whenever I see studies/articles like this I wonder what is the safest material to eat from and store food in? My thinking always defaulted to glass. If it has b

Whenever I see studies/articles like this I wonder what is the safest material to eat from and store food in? My thinking always defaulted to glass. If it has been good enough for chemistry for hundreds of years perhaps it's good enough for food. But some glass also contains lead.

gruez 5y ago
stainless steel?
- evv555 5y ago
  Most metal food containers are coated with plastics like BPA. You can't trust "BPA free" labels because there are now analog compounds in use. For example this is what a dissolved coke can looks like.[1] 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHFQoFoxvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHFQoFoxvQ
  - gruez 5y ago
    >Most metal food containers are coated with plastics like BPA I doubt it. I put my stainless steel containers in the oven with no ill effects, so there probably isn't some plastic coating on them. Are you confusing disposable metal food containers (eg. aluminum cans) with stainless steel bowls/cups?
    - evv555 5y ago
      Specifically I had something like this in mind.[1] Granted that article is about reusable aluminum bottles but stainless steel can have its own coatings like teflon. It's not unreasonable to believe your stainless steel bowls are a safe choice but it takes a surprising amount of effort to verify if that's the case given precedents like these. 1. https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110712/some-aluminum-water-bottles-leach-bpa#1 https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110712/some-aluminum-water...
      - maxerickson 5y ago
        It's kind of weird to be talking about aluminum packaging in response to a question and comment about stainless steel home storage containers and serving dishes.
  - fy20 5y ago
    I was told never to consume food from cans that are obviously deformed for this reason, as the inner coating could be damaged and the materials that make up the can could leech into the food. Same for water containers, pure stainless steel is much better than aluminium (which is coated) as when it inevitably gets dropped and deformed you won't have any leeching issues.
- jeffbee 5y ago
  Stainless is passivated and its surface is mainly oxides of chromium and nickel. They aren't great for storage because over time they leach chromium and nickel into acidic foods. Glass is altogether superior.
  - evv555 5y ago
    There's a reason why most chemistry equipment is made out of glass.
mensetmanusman 5y ago
Standard borosilicate glass. Metal ions are more reactive than their glass counterparts (because they already have their oxygen;)).
jrootabega 5y ago
Magnetic bottle. Great for fusion cuisine. But seriously, my lay understanding is that PTFE is one of the safest things that could exist, for some substances/activities at least.
- simlevesque 5y ago
  My understanding is that PTFE never reacts with anything, but you can scratch it and ingest some of it which is bad too.
  - evv555 5y ago
    The coating of these containers often contain chemicals like BPA so you can't trust a PTFE container is safe even if you trust PTFE.
- lstodd 5y ago
  Nonono, polyethylene and PET are the best. PTFE has this vicious fluorine atom there. (being serious, the article is blatant clickbait, ceramics are just fine, spectroscopy can detect parts-per-billion and that says nothing about actual harm, while linear-no-threshold theories are shit. -- and we're worrying so much that our health suffers more from worries than from most anything else)
- bruce343434 5y ago
  it (the teflon layer on your pan)'s a carcinogen when it inevitably gets scratched off and intermixed with the food, however.
Cerium 5y ago
White porcelain is quite safe. If it rings when you hit it with a finger then it was fired at a high enough temperature that lead could not have been used in the glaze.
scythe 5y ago
Titanium has a strong argument. It's less thermally conductive than steel or aluminium (so Ti is not great for pots, despite being occasionally advertised as such, but this is an advantage for plates), famously biocompatible, and highly corrosion resistant. It won't break into sharp pieces. Your standard Ti-6Al-4V alloy has a problem but there are other chemistries.
potiuper 5y ago
Glass is heavy & fragile, wrapping it in a rubber material makes it hard to clean leaving places for bacteria. Acidic food does not work well with metals like aluminum along with stainless steel that leaches nickel and chromium. Plastic 1, 2, 4 & 5 kept away from heat are likely the best, but avoiding additives including stabilizers and phthalates is difficult.
- lstodd 5y ago
  If bacterial contamination is suspected, liberal application of ethyl alcohol is advised.
- mleonhard 5y ago
  Glass with an external silicon rubber shell is likely the best. One can remove the shell and wash them both in a dishwasher. I wish a company made stackable 350mL glass containers with glass lids and silicon shells and seals. I would buy 20 of them right away and recycle my Rubbermaid "Takealongs" containers that I use for freezing food.
poulsbohemian 5y ago
I like cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic coated (think Le Creuset) for cooking surfaces, with glass for storage. For some items, waxed paper/fabric is a good storage. For now, I'm using reusable silicone bags for some items until such time as research shows that's not a good idea. I know there's a ton of food grade plastics used in commercial food production, but in my own kitchen I try to stay away from plastics.

gruez 5y ago

stainless steel?

evv555 5y ago
Most metal food containers are coated with plastics like BPA. You can't trust "BPA free" labels because there are now analog compounds in use. For example this is what a dissolved coke can looks like.[1] 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHFQoFoxvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHFQoFoxvQ
- gruez 5y ago
  >Most metal food containers are coated with plastics like BPA I doubt it. I put my stainless steel containers in the oven with no ill effects, so there probably isn't some plastic coating on them. Are you confusing disposable metal food containers (eg. aluminum cans) with stainless steel bowls/cups?
  - evv555 5y ago
    Specifically I had something like this in mind.[1] Granted that article is about reusable aluminum bottles but stainless steel can have its own coatings like teflon. It's not unreasonable to believe your stainless steel bowls are a safe choice but it takes a surprising amount of effort to verify if that's the case given precedents like these. 1. https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110712/some-aluminum-water-bottles-leach-bpa#1 https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110712/some-aluminum-water...
    - maxerickson 5y ago
      It's kind of weird to be talking about aluminum packaging in response to a question and comment about stainless steel home storage containers and serving dishes.
- fy20 5y ago
  I was told never to consume food from cans that are obviously deformed for this reason, as the inner coating could be damaged and the materials that make up the can could leech into the food. Same for water containers, pure stainless steel is much better than aluminium (which is coated) as when it inevitably gets dropped and deformed you won't have any leeching issues.
jeffbee 5y ago
Stainless is passivated and its surface is mainly oxides of chromium and nickel. They aren't great for storage because over time they leach chromium and nickel into acidic foods. Glass is altogether superior.
- evv555 5y ago
  There's a reason why most chemistry equipment is made out of glass.

mensetmanusman 5y ago

Standard borosilicate glass. Metal ions are more reactive than their glass counterparts (because they already have their oxygen;)).

jrootabega 5y ago

Magnetic bottle. Great for fusion cuisine. But seriously, my lay understanding is that PTFE is one of the safest things that could exist, for some substances/activities at least.

simlevesque 5y ago
My understanding is that PTFE never reacts with anything, but you can scratch it and ingest some of it which is bad too.
- evv555 5y ago
  The coating of these containers often contain chemicals like BPA so you can't trust a PTFE container is safe even if you trust PTFE.
lstodd 5y ago
Nonono, polyethylene and PET are the best. PTFE has this vicious fluorine atom there. (being serious, the article is blatant clickbait, ceramics are just fine, spectroscopy can detect parts-per-billion and that says nothing about actual harm, while linear-no-threshold theories are shit. -- and we're worrying so much that our health suffers more from worries than from most anything else)
bruce343434 5y ago
it (the teflon layer on your pan)'s a carcinogen when it inevitably gets scratched off and intermixed with the food, however.

Cerium 5y ago

White porcelain is quite safe. If it rings when you hit it with a finger then it was fired at a high enough temperature that lead could not have been used in the glaze.

scythe 5y ago

Titanium has a strong argument. It's less thermally conductive than steel or aluminium (so Ti is not great for pots, despite being occasionally advertised as such, but this is an advantage for plates), famously biocompatible, and highly corrosion resistant. It won't break into sharp pieces. Your standard Ti-6Al-4V alloy has a problem but there are other chemistries.

potiuper 5y ago

Glass is heavy & fragile, wrapping it in a rubber material makes it hard to clean leaving places for bacteria. Acidic food does not work well with metals like aluminum along with stainless steel that leaches nickel and chromium. Plastic 1, 2, 4 & 5 kept away from heat are likely the best, but avoiding additives including stabilizers and phthalates is difficult.

lstodd 5y ago
If bacterial contamination is suspected, liberal application of ethyl alcohol is advised.
mleonhard 5y ago
Glass with an external silicon rubber shell is likely the best. One can remove the shell and wash them both in a dishwasher. I wish a company made stackable 350mL glass containers with glass lids and silicon shells and seals. I would buy 20 of them right away and recycle my Rubbermaid "Takealongs" containers that I use for freezing food.

poulsbohemian 5y ago

I like cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic coated (think Le Creuset) for cooking surfaces, with glass for storage. For some items, waxed paper/fabric is a good storage. For now, I'm using reusable silicone bags for some items until such time as research shows that's not a good idea. I know there's a ton of food grade plastics used in commercial food production, but in my own kitchen I try to stay away from plastics.