How dangerous is it to bake food with plastic?
I just baked a spiral ham for an hour. There was a little piece of plastic that I was supposed to 'remove before cooking', but I didn't notice it.
After an hour, the ham was baked and the plastic seems to be unburned. This is possibly because the plastic was under the basting liquid and not exposed to air. The plastic also does not seem to have melted. It feels hard to the touch. The surface is a little slippery and smells like ham.
Is my ham safe to eat?
Best Answer
I posted this question in a hurry (because as you can imagine), there was a lot of anxiety concerning whether it was safe to have dinner or not. It turns out that this ham is not safe; I will quote the USDA:
The plastic bone guard covering the exposed bone is used to keep the bone from breaking the outer wrap. If left on the meat during cooking, a 325 or 350 °F oven temperature may not melt the plastic but still give off an abnormal chemical odor or taste. Cutting away the meat around the exposed area will not necessarily solve this potential food safety problem because the penetration of the chemical into the meat will be unknown. If meat is cooked in a closed container, the chemicals may penetrate the entire piece of meat. USDA advises not to eat the ham; discard it.
Source: Hock Locks and Other Accoutrements (USDA)
Quite a disappointment unfortunately.
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Quick Answer about "How dangerous is it to bake food with plastic?"
It is safe. Less expensive, bulk plastic wraps sold to the catering trade are not as safe, however. These products are commonly made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can contain harmful plasticizers that have been shown to leach into fatty foods such as cheese, meat, and fish.Is putting plastic in the oven dangerous?
The only way you might use plastic wrap in the oven While using plastic wrap in the oven can be very dangerous and lead to dangerous chemicals leaching into your food (via Prudent Reviews), there is one way to possibly use plastic wrap in the oven and it's the method celebrity chefs and restaurants use.What happens if you cook food in plastic?
"The vast majority of plastics used in food wraps and packaging containers do not contain the chemical constitutes that can form dioxins, which are a family of compounds produced by combustion at temperatures greater than 700 degrees Fahrenheit."Is cooked plastic toxic?
Avoid cooking hot food with plastic spoons, spatulas and whisks because toxic chemicals 'could leach into your dinner', scientists warn. Keep your plastic utensils away from piping hot meals or risk ingesting a slew of toxic chemicals, health experts have warned.Is melted plastic in food toxic?
Back on the other side of the wrap, the American Plastics Council cites a former FDA supervisory chemist, Dr. Charles Breder: "If you were to accidentally eat food containing melted plastic, you wouldn't suffer any harmful effects to your health, but your food probably wouldn't taste too appetizing."How harmful is Storing Foods in Plastic Containers | Safe Alternatives
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Steviano, Andrea Piacquadio, Klaus Nielsen, Andrea Piacquadio