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An interesting exercise is to view https://www.plasticlist.org/ https://www.plasticlist.org/ and sort the items from highest to lowest. Whatever your gut tells
by strict9 1y ago
An interesting exercise is to view https://www.plasticlist.org/ https://www.plasticlist.org/ and sort the items from highest to lowest.
Whatever your gut tells you about what has the most or least plastic in the food you're eating is probably incorrect.
War rations from the 1950s had the most, along with fast food cheeseburgers and Whole Foods grass fed steak.
Kraft Mac and cheese was low, especially after microwaving.
- neves 1y agoHow microwaving can decrease the amount of microplastics? Any link for an explanation?
- doph 1y agoMicrowaving causes individual particles to join into a delicious plastic-cheese emulsion, making them undetectable.
- hollerith 1y agoI figure it made the plastic less detectable by whatever measurement method was used.
- strict9 1y agoNat Friedman, who I believe commissioned this site, said he was surprised at this finding: https://x.com/natfriedman/status/1872836471398539379 https://x.com/natfriedman/status/1872836471398539379 Direct link to a paper in replies if you don't use X: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286203208_Effect_of_the_microwave_heating_on_the_stability_of_phthalate_plasticizers_which_are_used_in_plastic_packing_industry_in_aqueous_food_simulants https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286203208_Effect_of...
- kenjackson 1y agoThis is interesting -- it does put into context some of what was hyped up recently in the news, for example, the Fairlife Core Power microplastics. While it is higher in Core Plastics, it's not off by an order of magnitudes compared with other milk products. The other question I have -- what does someone who consumes very little microplastics look like? Increased lifespan, decreased risk of cancer (by how much), does it have lead-like outcomes, etc... Avoiding microplastics seems like a lot of inconvenience (at least for an individual) -- I'd want to make sure the payoff at the end is worth it.
- olelele 1y agoI would think -as microplastic particles have been found even in creatures in the deepest parts of the ocean- that it is nigh impossible to avoid them.
- metadat 1y agoPrevious discussion: Plasticlist Report – Data on plastic chemicals in Bay Area foods https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42525633 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42525633 - Feb 2025 (200 comments) And another discussion for the same link is currently underway on the front page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44366548 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44366548 p.s. thank you, what a terrific resource