Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I've always felt weird about buying these. Haven't felt right about cooking vegies in plastic in the microwave. What is your opinion about these?

Recently, I went to FoodCo, a cheapie grocerie store and purchased several of these veggies in a bag for microwaving. Seemed okay to me. But, I would like to know if they are all right too.

wordweaver wrote:I've always felt weird about buying these. Haven't felt right about cooking vegies in plastic in the microwave. What is your opinion about these?

They are new and in regard to the question you ask, I don't know.

There is a concern over certain types of plastics when used on food while being cooked in a microwave that some potentially harmful chemicals may be formed that can get into the food.

I would hope if they are selling veggies in a microwave bag to be cooked in, that they have taken precautions on the type of chemical.

However, I would be willing to make the case, that the known benefit of the veggies far outweighs any potential harm caused by the plastic being heated.

In Health
Jeff

JeffN wrote:
However, I would be willing to make the case, that the known benefit of the veggies far outweighs any potential harm caused by the plastic being heated.

There are certainly known benefits of eating vegetables but why would we ever have to weigh them against possible hazards of microwaving vegetables in plastic? There are many other ways to cook vegetables that don't involve cooking them in plastic so while the jury is still out on many safety issues regarding food and plastic why not just use other cooking methods? It is not any more difficult to buy frozen vegetables and heat them on the stove. If I need to take them to work for lunch it is easy enough to cook them on the stove in the morning and carry them in a thermos. Or I could eat them raw. I can't think of any time I would need to chose between cooking a vegetable in a microwave in plastic and not eating vegetables at all.

While I certainly understand that I can never eliminate all risk from my life it makes sense to me that if there is a possible serious health hazard from cooking a food a certain way and there are other options available why wouldn't I chose the options that appear less harmful? As a woman with three first degree relatives who have had breast cancer I pay close attention to information on possible endocrine disruptors and do my best to avoid them in my diet where possible.

If anyone is interested in reading more about plastics in our food there are some interesting articles linked here: http://mindfully.org/Plastic/plastic.htm

I am not trying to start a debate.

Lacey wrote:

JeffN wrote:
However, I would be willing to make the case, that the known benefit of the veggies far outweighs any potential harm caused by the plastic being heated.

There are certainly known benefits of eating vegetables but why would we ever have to weigh them against possible hazards of microwaving vegetables in plastic? There are many other ways to cook vegetables that don't involve cooking them in plastic so while the jury is still out on many safety issues regarding food and plastic why not just use other cooking methods? .

I would agree 100%.

But that was not the question. Nor was I recommending them, just making a point.

I would think it is much easier to just open the bag and heat them out of the bag.

Thanks though, for another way of looking at it

In Health
Jeff

I try to avoid plastic and wouldn't want to cook in it. It only takes a few minutes to steam veggies on the stove with a pot of water and a metal strainer.

I'll keep on doing what I do, which is buying fresh or frozen and cooking on stove or in glass in microwave. Actually, I don't have a microwave at home any more since it broke down 6 years ago, and don't mind the extra minute or two or three it takes to reheat without it. I appreciate yours and everyone's feedback.

It takes an even shorter amount of time to microwave frozen veggies in a ceramic caserole dish with a small amount of water.

My two cents,

Yvie