Ok. I am really confused about the BPA/plastic stuff. I went through all of my
plastic and they are all coded as a 5. So as I understand that, they are
BPA-free? Can I wash them in the dishwasher? If not, if I already have, is the
damage already done, and I need to get rid of them anyway?
Also, what's the story on Melamine?
Melamine dishes shouldn't be put in the microwave. It causes a breakdown of the plastic, which can leak into food.
As for the plastics, here is a link I hope helps:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-plastics-are-safe....
Dawn
Hi- I think 2, 4, 5, are OK to use. Never use any plastic after it starts to break down and I never put them in the dishwasher or microwave even if it says it's OK. It's just hard on them and they will start to wear more quickly. Even if it doesn't have BPA in it they are all petroleum products and contain various chemicals, not stuff you want to be ingesting. As for melamine when my kids were around 5 I threw it all out. It was right after the pet food scare when lots of US pets were dying from ingesting food made in china, turns there was melamine in it. They also had a disaster when thousands of Chinese babies were poisoned (some died) by formula that some company had put melamine in. My friends and I looked at all the cute little plates and cups our kids were eating off and tossed them in the garbage. Many were noticabley worn and even if they looked new I just couldn't see serving my children food on something that is basically toxic, just didn't make much sense. I am confident that in 20 years we'll all look back at the plastics we use now and say "what were we thinking?" I know my opinion goes against what most Americans believe, but it's just that, my opinion. Good luck!
you'll laugh...I heard this on NPR:
4, 5, 1, and 2, all the rest are bad for you. So, 3, 6, and 7 you want to stay away from.
In general, you should not heat food in plastics and you shouldn't put them in the dishwasher. You also shouldn't heat a baby bottle. If you use bottles, heat the milk/formula in something else then put it in the bottle. Or get glass bottles. It's better to sterilize them than not sterilize them, but it's really not good to heat them like that, so it's better to just use glass.
I don't think it's horrible if you keep what has been through the dishwasher, just don't do it any more.
If you decide to replace them.I found that Reynolds makes some really good BPA-free plastics. I've only seen them at Wal-Mart though.
If they are BPA free, you are fine.
