Is any cling film safe in microwave touching fats?

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Sue J T - 13 Feb 2005 22:35 GMT

A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
film" in the microwave.

It seems that the cling film was releasing dangerous chemicals into
foods which it was in contact with. In particular it seems that
fatty foods were worst affected.

In response to this, other types of safer cling film were sold. Many
of the safer types seemed to have less stretch in them.

Now I am surprised to see that some 'stretchy' cling film is sold for
use in microwaves but not to be in contact with fatty foods.

How dangerous would it be if I did in fact cook fatty foods in the
microwave with such cling film and let the cling film touch the fatty
food?

Is there any domestic cling film at all which is recognised as
effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
foods?

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Mr-Natural-Health - 13 Feb 2005 22:57 GMT

> A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling

> film" in the microwave.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> In response to this, other types of safer cling film were sold. Many

> of the safer types seemed to have less stretch in them.
>
> Now I am surprised to see that some 'stretchy' cling film is sold for

> use in microwaves but not to be in contact with fatty foods.
>
> How dangerous would it be if I did in fact cook fatty foods in the
> microwave with such cling film and let the cling film touch the fatty

> food?
>
> Is there any domestic cling film at all which is recognised as
> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
> foods?

The author of this message requested that it not be archived. This
message will be removed from Groups in 6 days (Feb 20, 2:35 pm).

Well in that case, I wont bother to post a reply.
.
Just thought that you might want to know.

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Cubit - 13 Feb 2005 23:05 GMT

Well, I don't know much about cling film, but as an alternative you might
put an ordinary plate over your bowl of food. It stops the food from
spattering on the inside of the microwave. Often my plates work better
inverted on top the bowls.

> A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
> film" in the microwave.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
> foods?

Reply to this Message

Alf Christophersen - 13 Feb 2005 23:07 GMT

>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
>film" in the microwave.

Depends on if phtalates are used as softener or not. If used, yes, it
may be quite dangerous because it speeds up the introduction of the
phtalates into the food heated.

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Ruddell - 13 Feb 2005 23:19 GMT

I can't answer that question, but what I use in the microwave always is
wax paper. The stuff seems to have been made for the microwave oven
years before they were invented...invisible paper they should have
called it.

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Cheers

Dennis

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Peter Aitken - 13 Feb 2005 23:25 GMT

>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
> film" in the microwave.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
> foods?

I've gotten away from using any kind of plastic wrap in the MW. Rather I use
the hard plastic MW covers, sort of like an inverted bowl that you set over
the food in the MW. It does not touch the food at all and lasts forever.

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Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

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Dee Randall - 13 Feb 2005 23:45 GMT

>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
> film" in the microwave.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
> foods?

I can't answer you as to safety, but here is what I do. I use the big, big
rolls that are sold at Costco/BJ's for general use & not touching any food.
I don't use this kind for covering bowls at all in the microwave. (As an
example, I will cover a bowl of rising dough in this wrap. I will put a
large piece down on the counter when I wish to avoid a large clean-up. And I
will sometimes cover a bowl of food that goes into the refrigerator
overnight.)

For wrap that may touch food, fatty or otherwise, I use "Glad" ClingWrap
(Crystal Clear Polyethylene). It says on the box that it "Clings Tight,"
but it doesn't cling like the big roll wrap does. I don't use this kind
either for covering bowls at all in the microwave. I have stopped wrapping
cheese in this wrap and have instead started wrapping my cheese in butcher
paper and putting it into a freezer type bag. (It actually keeps better for
me this way.)

I have seen cooks on TV that will actually wrap food in clinging wrap and
cook in the microwave, and other various ways. I, myself, would never do
this. I can't recall my research that brought me around to this way of
using plastic wraps, but it is as safe a way I know of using these products.
HTH,
Dee

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Julia Altshuler - 14 Feb 2005 01:24 GMT

There's more information here:

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/plastic.htm

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Alf Christophersen - 14 Feb 2005 19:24 GMT

>There's more information here:
>
>http://www.snopes.com/toxins/plastic.htm

Nice to see you in part have the same problems as us with health
product producers advertising more or less pure wrong things, in order
to earn money on non-working things.

Like selling ordinary tea as a breakthrough slimming product. Oh no,
it was not Thea chinensis, but leaves from the miracle plant Camellia
chinensis. Proven to be increasing fat degradation, slimming 10 kg pr
week.
Oh no, no, the weight decrease is not from increased urine production

(I was sitting by the expert on slimming preparats at that time, being
the guy telling my colleague, sorry Camellia chinensis is the old
botanical name for Thea chinensis.

I probably spoiled a billion NOk project that time by saying stop. The
advertising is false information, making purchasers believe something
that there is no hold in. The peeing effect of drinking tea on the
other side had been known for decades.

Just an example of what Codex alimentarius want to get rid of.

Another example of monkey business in slimming preparats that
fortunately, really fortunately did not work at all. Red kidney bean
extract that should inhibit energy intake from food by 10%.
Fortunately it did not contain that amount of protein degradation
inhibitor as said.
Otherwise bacteria would have had a really big feast and produced
enormous amounts of gas daily, making you able to play a trumpet with
your arse (but most probably, intestine would just have swollened and
punctured like in horses eating plants containing the same type of
lectins. It is deadly for horses :-(.

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Barry Hunt - 14 Feb 2005 04:33 GMT

>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
> film" in the microwave.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching fatty
> foods?

To my knowledge all cling films available now are made from polyethylene.
This does not need plasticisers (unlike PVC film - no longer used) and is
relatively harmless.

Barry Hunt

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Sue J T - 14 Feb 2005 11:40 GMT

>>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of
>>"cling
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>> effectively being safe when used in the microwave and touching
>> fatty foods?

> To my knowledge all cling films available now are made from
> polyethylene. This does not need plasticisers (unlike PVC film -
> no longer used) and is relatively harmless.
>
> Barry Hunt

Here in the UK, I have some own brand cling film sold in Tesco and
that is made of PVC.

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Dwayne - 14 Feb 2005 13:35 GMT

I heard that it was bad for you to use any kind of plastic in the microwave,
because the heat transfers the chemicals from the plastic into what ever you
are cooking. Don't know if it is true or not, but it is something to
consider.

Once when I put oil in a plastic container and cooked with it, the plastic
container was melted, or other wise damaged. I tried popcorn and butter
once and they transferred too much heat to the bowl. Maybe it didn't have
all the features of a modern microwave safe bowl (it has been over 20 years
ago). It is possible that is why you have the warning about letting the
plastic wrap touch the oil.

Dwayne

>>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
>> film" in the microwave.
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Barry Hunt

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Alf Christophersen - 14 Feb 2005 19:09 GMT

>A few years ago there was a scare about using certain types of "cling
>film" in the microwave.
>
>It seems that the cling film was releasing dangerous chemicals into
>foods which it was in contact with. In particular it seems that
>fatty foods were worst affected.

Seems like they were forced to remove the plasticizers. They became
banned here for a while, but came back in market about one or two
years later.

But, you can find some more ads for Glad here : :-)

http://www.glad.com/plasticwrap_faq.html#a3

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