Eating From Foam Food Containers is Risky Business

Greetings from Pattaya, eh! We're enjoying the heat. It's a pleasant change from February in Canada...that's for sure. Fill your mug (not a foam container!) and wrangle one of those virtual mega muffins onto your plate. Having done that, sit back and enjoy while I tell you why you shouldn't use foam food containers.

BANGKOK: -- The widespread practice in Thailand of using foam containers or plastic bags for “take away” food orders is a hidden health hazard, doctors warn. Heated food causes chemicals like styrene to leach into the food and end up absorbed by the body. Some chemicals are known carcinogens, so eating takeout food from foam containers should be minimized.

The type of foam generally used for takeout containers is Styrofoam, which is made from the black waste from the petroleum fuel distillation, says Dr. Weerachat Kittirattanapaibool, an environmental packaging specialist. That's wonderful to know, isn't it, eh!

Sytrofoam containers contain the chemical styrene, which has a molecular structure similar to estrogen hormone in females, Dr. Weerachat said. The problem is that any chemicals contained in the styrofoam will leach into the foods inside, especially if the food or liquid is hot.

The styrene is then consumed by humans along with the food. Although there are no definitive studies of the long-term effect of styrene and other chemicals, evidence suggest that years of accumulating traces of chemicals in the body may lead to diseases or even premature death.

Doctors suspect chemicals like styrene can cause symptoms of “brain fog” resembling Alzheimer’s disease. Exposure to styrene may affect mood and cause irritability, and result in females having irregular menstrual periods, Dr. Weerachat said. Statistically, a person who eats at least one meal daily from Styrofoam containers for 10 years will increase his cancer risk 6 times above normal, he said. Other studies suggest similar risks from the plastic bags also used for takeout foods.

There are 3 types of carcinogens in styrene, which in males increases the risk of prostate cancer, and breast cancer for women, he said. Both sexes have a higher chance of getting liver cancer, even if they do not regularly drink alcohol, he added.

Styrene is classified as a hazardous material in the United States, which recently listed it as a carcinogen. Pregnant women who eat foods packed in polystyrene boxes have a greater risk of having a child with Down’s syndrome, or born with deformed body parts, the doctor warned,

Spoiled your day, have I? Nah...you and I just have to remember to minimize eating or drinking foods from styrofoam containers. Oops! Wish I had written this yesterday. We had food in foam containers last night. it is an accepted practice in Thailand...unfortunately. Only way to avoid the dreaded foam containers is not to take food out. I know all about 'brain fog' though!

See ya, eh!

Bob