"Virus Hoaxes"
Virus Hoax Warnings: Page 11 of 81
Plastic Wrap Toxins Warning July 2002 This one is a little more complicated. It actually consists of two separate warnings that were running around the Internet separately and were then combined into one. The second story actually appears first in the combined warning and describes the experiments of a 7th grader named Claire Nelson who was looking at leaching DEHA out of plastic wrap and into food during heating in a microwave. The story was taken from an Associated Press article by Chris Lehourites in April of 2000. A CNews article published in Canada also discusses Claire Nelson's work. According to that article, her research was done with the help of an FDA scientist. She found that if you cook plastic wrap in olive oil that a small but significant amount of DEHA leaches out into the oil. The second article was taken from a TV interview of Dr. Edward Fujimoto on KHON in Hawaii in January 2002. This article has numerous errors, including the location of the hospital and the insinuation that Dr. Fujimoto is an MD (He is actually a Ph.D.). He was expressing his concern that heating foods in inappropriate containers could expose people to Dioxin. DEHA is a plasticizer that us added to plastics to make them soft. Exposure to high levels of plasticizers is known to cause health problems including cancer so it is a good idea to limit your exposure. Dioxins are a definite health risk and they are known to build up in the body over time so it is also a good idea to limit your exposure to them as well. However the exposure to dioxins from eating food heated in plastics is very small compared to the exposure from burning plastics. So is this a huge health risk that we should warn everyone about? Probably not. If you follow the FDA advice on heating foods in the microwave you should not be at any significant risk. Only use cookware that is specially manufactured for use in the microwave oven. Glass, ceramic containers, and all plastics should be labeled for microwave oven use. Plastic storage containers such as margarine tubs, take-out containers, whipped topping bowls, and other one-time use containers should not be used in microwave ovens. These containers can warp or melt, possibly causing harmful chemicals to migrate into the food. Microwave plastic wraps, wax paper, cooking bags, parchment paper, and white microwave-safe paper towels should be safe to use. Do not let plastic wrap touch foods during microwaving. Never use thin plastic storage bags, brown paper or plastic grocery bags, newspapers, or aluminum foil in the microwave oven. A very good review of this warning is available on the urbanlegends.com website. Plastic Wrap Toxins. Author/s: Jule Klotter Issue: Jan, 2001 As a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that di(ethylhexyl)adepate (DEHA), considered a carcinogen, is found in plastic wrap. She also learned that the FDA had never studied the effect of microwave cooking on plastic-wrapped food. Claire began to wonder: "Can cancer-causing particles seep into food covered with household plastic wrap while it is being microwaved?" Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science teacher, Claire set out to test what the FDA had not. Although she had an idea for studying the effect of microwave radiation on plastic-wrapped food, she did not have the equipment. Eventually, Jon Wilkes at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkansas, agreed to help her. The research center, which is affiliated with the FDA, let her use its facilities to perform her experiments, which involved microwaving plastic wrap in virgin olive oil. Claire tested four different plastic wraps and "found not just the carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was migrating [into the oil]...." Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts in men and to breast cancer in women. Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of trips each week to the research center, which was 25 miles from her home, to work on her experiment. An article in Options reported that "her analysis found that DEHA was migrating into the oil at between 200 parts and 500 parts per million. The FDA standard is 0.05 parts per billion." Her summarized results have been published in science journals. Claire Nelson received the American Chemical Society's top science prize for students during her junior year and fourth place at the International Science and Engineering Fair (Fort Worth, Texas) as a senior. "Carcinogens -- At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" Options May 2000. Published by People Against Cancer, 515-972-4444 On Channel 2 (Huntsville, AL) this morning they had a Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant saimin and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Pass this on to your friends.... To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Use paper towel instead.
Copyright 2004 by Jay Jennings
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