[SoFlaVegans] Microwaves, Plastics and Dioxins

July 1, 2003

Hi Misty,

FYI: Posted by hoaxbuster (208.61.53.202) on May 23, 2003 at

22:43:37:

In Reply to: Re: do NOT USE PLASTICS in MICROWAVE! posted by chip on

February 25, 2003 at 13:51:54:

From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension service at

find:

Another apparent Internet hoax about food safety has attracted the

attention of extension educators around the US. The apparent

misinformation has been e-mailed to people and purports to quote a

Dr. Edward Fujimoto, " manager of the Wellness Program at Castle

Hospital " (location not given), who appeared on TV talking about

dioxins and how they get into fatty food heated in microwave ovens

using plastic containers. Instead, he recommended using glass,

Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food, including food

that is sold in " microwaveable " plastic containers.

Professor Joe Hotchkiss, Cornell University Department of Food

Science, and I agreed that it appears that the concerns are based on

old information that was addressed years ago by the FDA, the food

packaging industries, and the food industry. And the issue was

plasticizer migration during microwaving of foods, not dioxins. In

addition, Joe looked up E. Fujimoto and was unable to find anything

on this or any other topic published by him.

....

Shirley Blakely at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition (CFSAN)

consulted with her colleagues and no one can substantiate the e-

mailed information. Her colleague, Dr. Ed Machuga, Consumer Safety

Officer at CFSAN, wrote:

" We have no evidence that plastic containers can produce dioxins when

heated in microwave oven. In fact, most, if not all, plastics

containers would not even have the correct chemical composition to

form dioxins.

Jean

Jean Stouffer, C.Ht.

505-269-8423

jstouffer

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