Ziploc bags and containers are made with polyethylene and polypropylene.
As such, Ziploc bags are alleged to be "fundamentally unfit for microwave and freezer use" despite their labeling, which has been "leading consumers to believe they are fit to be microwaved and frozen without risk of microplastics leaching into their food." Consumers may have "unwittingly exposed themselves and their families to undisclosed microplastics during routine kitchen practices," per the filing.
As the Ziploc lawsuit asserts, even consumers doing their best to avoid exposure to microplastics can be lulled into a "false sense of security" by purportedly misleading labels.
Stainless steel steam table pans. The stuff they use in professionial kitchens. They come in standard sizes, can be frozen, heated in the oven, stovetop, and some on induction cooktops. They are often used with stainless steel lids but they also make stretchy silicone lids that are good for freezing
I avoid plastic where I can but its often impossible unless you want a severely limited diet. Most vegetables come in plastic packaging of some form. Rice and pasta too, although flour and oats come in paper so at least i could have sourdough bread and porridge with some jam from a glass jar.
Wait until you realize how much plastic is being used in manufacturing. You know that meme where a product gets shipped across the world 5 times before finally being assembled? About 4 layers of plastic are spun around the parts every time it happens.
Before I read this, I wasn't aware of any reason not too. If I put meat in a bag to freeze it, I'd put the entire bag in the microwave if I needed to thaw it quickly.
"As the suit explains, microplastics are "small plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter," a byproduct of larger plastic items breaking down."
I feel like they mean smaller than 5mm. 5mm is like a 1/4 of an inch round... thats not "micro" thats just plastics.
At this point we need to force every plastic producing and utilizing company to pay into a national healthcare fund to pay for all of the cancers and other problems they have caused for people.
I've been trying to convince people for years to just switch to jars. They last longer, glass doesn't poison your blood, you can store dinner leftovers in a jar and bring it to work for lunch really easily, they make good cups, you can ferment stuff, they're good for storing other things like maybe rubber bands or paper clips. I still use plastic bags sometimes for freezing bulk proteins (need to find a new solution for that I guess) but for nearly everything jars are just better
Excellent call on the jars! Would something like butcher paper work for freezing? Or is that plastic-y too...
Checks
Looks like it's just paper! Potential bleaches and waxes, but found rolls without fairly easily. My dad froze most of his venison in butcher paper and it always came out excellent.
It depends on the food but I usually heat it up in the jar (without the metal lid of course). Dense thick stuff like refried beans can be tricky if you filled the jar to the top because it's hard to stir for even heating. For the most part just be conscious of the room you have to move stuff around and it's all good though. Obviously some stuff won't work well like pizza unless you wanted to roll it up like a taquito. I've done soups, rice, hot dogs, stir fry, corn, various pastas, curry, oatmeal, potatoes, you name it. Lots of things that don't microwave well normally are still just as okay in a jar such as steak bites, bread, fries, cream sauce, rangoons, or neatly stacked sliders