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Plastics.


gene

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Well, i was wondering is it true that for example, you decide to take away food. Like maybe a HOT soup and it gets packed in a plastic container. (The transparent type.) When, you reach home and start to eat/drink the soup, it may contain chemicals that got "degradeD" into the soup due to the heat. This is what some say that cause cancer. How true is that?

 

Similar question regarding styroform(sp?)

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they`ll not be present in sufficient quantities to be of any risk, the degradation process takes MONTHS (if it`s a bio-degradable material).

the "fluffing" agent in styrofoam used to be CFCs, that was outlawed a few years ago, it also is quite safe.

in fact there will probably be more carcinogenic materials in the food produce that makes the soup than you`ll ever get from its 20 mins in a container :)

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heat will melt SOME plastics, and the sort they use in food containers is the sort that won`t melt from boiling water.

PTFE is used in space suits and non stick frying pans, heat`s not really too much of an issue for that either :)

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No, I don`t get chan ABC here.

 

PTFE can be broken down at High temps and in certain heated acids, to give off Flourine gas (very poisonous!).

but the heats involved are beyond conventional cooking apparatus and the acids would never be in food stuffs, it MAY be possible with tiny metalic contaminants to goto extreme heat in a Microwave oven and provide suficient local heat to a teflon coating, though it would be a rather unlikely and unlucky scenario :)

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My mum just recently bought an electric air pot. Those whereby you boil hot water and the water is maintain at like 90 degrees, c. The salesperson said that the interior of the air pot is made of Teflon. Can someone tell me more about Teflon?

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PolyTetraFlouroEthylene (PTFE) or Teflon as it`s commercialy known.

Originaly made by NASA for their space program, then adopted by the millitary and soon after it became publicly available (in the 1970`s I beleive).

It`s used for its non stick properties, ability handle great heat and cold (and sudden changes between the two). it`s also reasonably inert chemicaly.

I`m sure a Google search will be able to tell you alot more than me however :)

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