When baby food comes out of the microwave, it sometimes has a little something extra than when it went in … huge numbers of microplastics that are released when the food and container heat up.
That’s what University of Nebraska scientists found when they studied how two common plastic baby food containers performed in the microwave. In some cases, more than 4 million microplastics and 2 billion nanoplastics were released for every square centimeter of container.
Both plastics are federally approved and the health effects of consuming micro- and nanoplastics remain unclear.
But unlike the well-studied plastic baby bottle, the researchers found no such studies for plastic leaching in baby food containers. They focused on containers made with polypropylene [pol-ee-proh-puh-leen] and pouches made of polyethylene [poly·eth·yl·ene]. Containers filled with a 3% acidic solution to simulate fruits, vegetables and dairy products were heated for three minutes.
The results varied widely by container type and the liquid inside. Infants drinking products with microwaved water and toddlers consuming microwaved dairy products were deemed to be at the highest risk for ingesting plastic.
The scientists then exposed embryonic kidney cells to the actual plastic particles that infants might consume over a period of days. After two days, just 23% of the kidney cells exposed to the highest concentrations of plastics had survived.
The scientists say more study is needed, especially about how plastic infiltrates cells. Until then, or until different plastics are developed, here’s an option: Microwave baby foods in non-plastic containers.