With people stuck at home and not eating out, some may be interested in this reader’s question about how to microwave soup safely. Are there concerns about health risks?
Do You Microwave Soup in Plastic Containers?
Q. Quick soup products are often packaged in a Styrofoam cup. You add water, nuke it and have a hot lunch in seconds. Even healthy organic brands of rice come in pouches suitable for a hot nuked lunch.
I recently noticed the noodle soup package says NOT to microwave the product in the Styrofoam cup. That defeats the convenience factor!
The rice products instruct you to cook the product in the pouch. But now health coaches on some TV news shows tell you NOT to cook products in the pouches, because microwave heat releases some undesirable chemical from the pouches.
What is unhealthy if you microwave soup in the Styrofoam cup? And why not cook the rice in the package? or even eat it from the package?
The Trouble with Styrofoam or Other Plastics:
A. We consulted with Dr. Linda Birnbaum, one of the country’s leading toxicologists. She was formerly director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.
Dr. Birnbaum has studied endocrine-disrupting chemicals for decades. The compounds alter the way our hormones function and are found in many plastic products. Heating the contents in the microwave could conceivably increase the amounts of these chemicals that leach into the food.
Most of the experts we have consulted over the last 20 years recommend glass, ceramic or paper instead of plastic products for the microwave oven. One study reported that heating food in plastic containers in the microwave increases migration of endocrine-disrupting compounds into the food (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Aug. 9, 2017). If you need to microwave soup, why not put it in the glass or ceramic bowl to heat it?
Learn More:
You may wish to listen to our interview with Dr. Leonardo Trasande. It is Show 1158: Will Hormone Disruptors Affect Your Children’s Health?
