By Allyson Chiu
The Washington Post
If you’re taking stock of your kitchen tools, a cursory scan around the room will probably reveal a common trend: black plastic.
“Black plastic is in virtually every kitchen in America,” said Judith Enck, a former senior Environmental Protection Agency official in the Obama administration who now heads Beyond Plastics, an advocacy organization.
But she and other experts are urging people to avoid using spoons, spatulas, ladles, tongs and containers made from the ubiquitous material. A growing body of research suggests black plastic, which can be made from recycled electronic waste, could contain toxic chemicals that might leach into your food while you’re cooking.
Here’s what you need to know about how to deal with the black plastic in your kitchen.
What’s the problem with black plastic?
A recent peer-reviewed analysis of black plastic household products, including food trays and kitchen utensils, found that 17 out of 20 items tested (or 85 percent) contained brominated and organophosphate flame retardants. The chemicals detected in the study are often found in electronics and have been linked to a number of health hazards.
“We know for a fact that these toxic flame retardants can migrate out of the products that they’re in and into our environment,” said Megan Liu, who co-authored the study. Heat, she noted, can make it easier for these chemicals to leach out.
Liu, science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, an environmental health research and advocacy group that conducted the study along with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said researchers did not link the exposure levels in the tested products to specific health outcomes.
There is some debate over how much risk plastic kitchen tools contaminated with flame retardants could pose to people. Broadly, exposure to these chemicals have been linked to cancer and hormone disruption, but so far there hasn’t been enough research to link regular use of contaminated cooking utensils or food containers to health problems.
The latest study has come under scrutiny for incorrectly calculating the safe exposure limit for Decabromodiphenyl ether, or BDE-209, one of the 11 flame retardants the researchers detected in the tested products. The paper estimated that using contaminated cooking utensils could cause a median intake of 34,700 nanograms per day, which the authors wrote “would approach” the maximum exposure levels considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency for an adult weighing roughly 130 pounds. But that math was wrong. The maximum level is 420,000 nanograms per day, not 42,000.
The study has since been corrected. Liu said the error does not change the study’s conclusions, that the presence of toxic chemicals in items people use on a daily basis should prompt concern. Some of the products tested contained multiple flame retardants, not only BDE-209.
“There’s really no safe level of exposure to these harmful toxic flame retardants,” she said, adding these substances can build up in the body.
Liu and other experts emphasized there’s a need for greater regulation and restrictions that keep these chemicals out of consumer products they’re not supposed to be in, they said.
“We try and recycle plastic, but this is an example of where the recycling sort of breaks down and introduces potentially hazardous chemicals into products that they were never intended to be in,” said Andrew Turner, a plastic pollution expert at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.
In the meantime, here are some steps you can take to help reduce your risk.
What should you do?
It’s likely that not all the black plastic products in your kitchen contain recycled electronic waste, but it can be difficult to know for sure. Labeling that can tell consumers whether a product has recycled content isn’t always available. America’s Test Kitchen, notes that if kitchen utensils are made from virgin, or new, black plastic, they might still be okay to use because that material is unlikely to contain the contaminants found in recycled products.
• Start with what touches your food. Instead of trying to guess which items might be contaminated, some experts recommend getting rid of anything made from black plastic that comes into contact with food.
• If it gets exposed to heat, throw it out. If it feels overwhelming to purge your kitchen and replace everything at once, consider prioritizing getting rid of black plastic items that most often come into contact with hot pans and food or cooking oil, for example spatulas or stirring spoons, Turner said.
“The concern about cooking utensils is the fact that firstly, you’re heating something up, which is bound to release more stuff,” said Turner, who published a peer-reviewed paper in 2018 highlighting the presence of recycled electronic waste in black plastic products.
“Secondly, if you’re heating in oil, the oil acts like a solvent for the flame retardants. It’s a better way of getting flame retardants out of plastic than, say, water — even boiling water.”
• Don’t use it to store or reheat food. You should also get rid of black plastic containers and generally avoid reheating food in any type of plastic or exposing the material to other sources of heat, such as a dishwasher.
“Never put any plastic into the microwave,” Enck said. “I’m concerned because a lot of takeout food containers have black plastic on the bottom, and if you’re busy, you may just throw all the spaghetti from last night into the microwave, and you’re going to get some toxics in the marinara sauce.”
• Don’t recycle it. Once you’ve collected your unwanted black plastic, don’t put it in with your recycling, Enck said. Recycling facilities typically don’t have the technology to sort black plastic, so the items end up discarded as waste, she said.
“I just threw it all out in my garbage can,” said Enck, who got rid of black plastic in her kitchen.
What can replace black plastic tools?
Plastic is used so often in cooking tools because the material can be molded and has the right balance of rigidity and flex to accomplish many tasks around the kitchen, said Hannah Crowley, executive editor for America’s Test Kitchen product reviews.
“Plastic in general is incredibly versatile, which is why it has wormed its way into every facet of our lives,” Crowley said.
But it can be easy and affordable to replace black plastic tools with ones made from wood, stainless steel or silicone. For food containers, experts recommend glass.
Wood: Wood can be a great material for cooking tools, such as stirring spoons and bowls.
Consider purchasing bamboo items, said Shanika Whitehurst, associate director of product sustainability, research and testing at Consumer Reports. Not only can bamboo be a more sustainable source of wood, the material is durable and cost-effective, she said.
“You can find bamboo and utensils everywhere from Walmart to Macy’s,” she said. “They work great. They don’t take on too much of the food smells.”
But don’t put wood products in the dishwasher, Crowley said. Because it’s a porous natural material, it will soak in a lot of water if it’s left in a wet environment and drying it out could crack it. Wood products also typically need to be oiled periodically.
Stainless steel: Stainless steel can be a more low-maintenance option.
“It can go in the dishwasher, no concerns there,” Crowley said. “It’s not going to break. You don’t need to oil it.”
But, she noted, metal tools might not be the right choice if you want to protect your pans, particularly nonstick ones. Stainless steel could scratch certain pans if you’re really scraping at the surface. If you’re using stainless steel utensils, Crowley suggests cooking in a cast iron pan, which you don’t have to be as careful with.
Silicone: Metal and wood tools aren’t as flexible as plastic, so if you’re in need of a tool that can easily remove cake batter from a bowl or clean your pan of scrambled eggs, silicone is an option, Crowley said.
Silicone is made with plastic, and experts note that they’re still trying to understand potential risks. But Crowley said these products are typically designed to withstand higher temperatures than plastic utensils.
Whitehurst recommended making sure that any silicone cooking tools you buy are labeled food grade.
How much will it cost to get rid of black plastic?
Many wood, stainless steel and silicone tools can be purchased for less than $20. You can also find deals buying secondhand utensils from places such as Goodwill or Salvation Army.
As you’re replacing your items, here are some of Crowley’s kitchen must-haves:
• Fish spatula: The spatula part is typically stainless steel, but handles can be made of wood or silicone. “Fish is the trickiest thing to turn,” she said. “These are designed the best possible way to turn something tricky, which in turn makes them good for everything.”
• Wooden spoon
• Stainless steel ladle
• Stainless steel slotted spoon
Amudalat Ajasa of The Post contributed to this report.
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