Lower Tox Swaps for the Kitchen
- Alex Kelly
- Dec 31
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 2
Safer Dish Washing (Hand Washing)
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Safer Dish Washing (Dishwasher)
Rinse Aids & Sponges
DIY rinse aid: vinegar
non-plastic scrubber
for utensils: stainless steel or high quality wood
avoid PFAS in teflon and nonstick coatings. what about “safer” coatings like ceramic-coated pots/pans? I prefer to stick with simple cast iron, glass, or 100% stainless steel and ceramic, because it takes the guess out of “what’s underneath the coating if/when it starts to scratch and peel?”
Cutting Boards
I would make it a high priority to avoid plastic cutting boards. Every swipe of the knife inserts microplastics into the food for consumption. best option would be a solid one piece of wood finished with coconut oil or beeswax (like scatter creek boards or stenwood lab). next best option would be any quality wood cutting board, which are usually finished with a mineral oil. glass, stainless steel, and granite are also great options but can be tough on knives.
Microplastics are microscopic particles from plastics that breakdown due to weathering, friction, heat, etc. Microplastics disturb the digestive, endocrine, reproductive, and immunity systems. They have been found in the feces of infants, including in their meconium. One study found that infants have 10-20x higher concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics in their stool than adults (1). There are multiple studies suggesting a link between microplastics and early puberty (2).
Storing Foods
It is best to avoid plastic when storing food, especially if it’s going to be reheated, in order to avoid microplastics leaching into the food we consume.
But what about BPA free plastic? BPA-Free plastic is made of BPA substitutes that may be equally as harmful. Two of these substitutes include BPS (bisphenol S) and BPF (bisphenol F). A 2019 study showed a correlation between BPS and BPF and obesity in children and teens (3).
In 2017 the EPA tested the endocrine disruption of BPA, BPS, BPF, BPAP, BPAF, BPZ, and BPB. Every single one displayed estrogenic effects; and BPAF, BPB, and BPZ were all stronger than BPA (4). A 2018 experiment exposed female mice fetuses and newly born male mice to small amounts of common BPA substitutes. This resulted in abnormal eggs and lower sperm counts that continued on for three generations (5).
A large misconception is that BPA free plastics do not contain microplastics. This is not true. If something is plastic, whether BPA free or not, most likely it will contain microplastics. BPA free simply means it is not made with bisphenol A, and the microplastics will not leach BPA. However, they can leach whichever substitute its made with.
Thoughts on Silicone
Many people are leery of silicone because of how porous it is, and are concerned about what all it may “trap.” Others believe it to, potentially, be this generation’s plastic as there isn’t a lot of information about its composition and materials used.
My stance is, we know what we know about the harms of plastic. We don’t know what we don’t know about potential harms of silicone. So if the only choice is between plastic or silicone, I would say silicone is the “better” choice. However, the best options are always going to be stainless steel, glass, and a high quality wood - depending.
Want plastic-free food and tableware for kids? Check out these options!
sources:
1 Occurrence of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Infant and Adult Feces. Junjie Zhang, Lei Wang, Leonardo Trasande, and Kurunthachalam Kannan. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2021 8 (11), 989-994. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00559
2 Papadimitriou A, Papadimitriou DT. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Early Puberty in Girls. Children (Basel). 2021 Jun 10;8(6):492. doi: 10.3390/children8060492. PMID: 34200537; PMCID: PMC8226958.
3 Melanie H Jacobson, Miriam Woodward, Wei Bao, Buyun Liu, Leonardo Trasande, Urinary Bisphenols and Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, Journal of the Endocrine Society, Volume 3, Issue 9, September 2019, Pages 1715–1726
4 Robin Mesnage, Alexia Phedonos, Matthew Arno, Sucharitha Balu, J. Christopher Corton, Michael N. Antoniou, Editor’s Highlight: Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Bisphenol A Alternatives Activate Estrogen Receptor Alpha in Human Breast Cancer Cells, Toxicological Sciences, Volume 158, Issue 2, August 2017, Pages 431–443
pots pans baking sheet muffin tin
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