3 ms·

So they put the tofu into plastic containers and then heat it up to pasteurize? Hope the customers like eating micro plastics and PFAS...

• z2h-a6n 3y ago
  Do you have a reason to expect significant levels of microplastics and PFAS to be introduced due to pasteurization in the container? For what it's worth, the tofu packaging I have in front of me, which looks like all of the other tofu packaging I've seen, is made of polypropylene (not sure about the film covering), which is made of carbon and hydrogen, so I'm not sure where the PFAS would come from. Another thing to consider is whether the customers like eating (some potentially negligible amount of) microlplastics and (probably ~ zero) PFAS more than they like eating unpasteurized tofu since that seems likely to be the only economical alternative.
  • minimalist 3y ago
    With respect to microplastics and nanoplastics, this study explored the mobilization of plastics when heating up foods in plastic containers (a few months ago) [0]. I was also surprised to see the pasteurization occur in the plastic container and after researching this a bit, it seems like it is the industry standard. I guess a good thesis topic would be seeing if there was a difference in micro/nanoplastics present in pasteurized vs unpasteurized tofu. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37624070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37624070
• bamboozled 3y ago
  In Tokyo, the majority of people go to the "kombini" (convenience store) for lunch, buy food in plastic and styrofoam containers, then heat them in the microwave. This is "normal" for Japanese. They won't be bothered by it. Unfortunately basically every tourist will be eating this stuff now.