Home → Lower Your Risk → Ask-the-Expert Conferences: Risk Factors → August 2005: Environmental Issues and Breast Cancer → Do plastics release toxins into food?

Do plastics release toxins into food?

Page last modified on: October 2, 2008

Question from ChristineM: Having read about artificial estrogens, I store everything in glass containers rather than plastic. I heard that cooking or freezing in plastic can release carcinogens (dioxin?) into the food. And what about fumes from gas heating and cooking? What about plastic water bottles?: Answers —Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D.: There's much, much concern about plastics. Even in animal studies, it's an issue to make sure we don't contaminate experiments with plastics, especially old ones that have been used and washed many times.

As for water bottles, it depends on the plastic. Polyethylene is relatively safe. If you look at the bottom of your plastic bottle, there is a number in a little triangle. Look at Consumer Reports or The Green Guide for more info.

Generally you don't want to heat or cook with most plastics. It would be a better world if the plastics manufacturers provided us with information on these issues, rather than us having to become experts on what is a good or bad plastic.

Again, human data are just not available. So in personal practice, avoiding heating plastics and going to glassware if possible is wise.; Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.: Just to clarify, microwaving in plastic is not advisable?; Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D.: I would certainly avoid it, even for the concern we have with the plasticizers being released. It's really an avoidance issue in the absence of real data on human health effects.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2005, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Environmental Issues and Breast Cancer. Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D., and moderator Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. answered your questions about which environmental hazards may increase your risk for breast cancer and how you can reduce them in the home and workplace.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., MPH Devra Lee-Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H. directs the Environmental Oncology Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D. is director of an NIH Center for Breast Cancer and the Environment at the University of Cincinnati and also associate professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of breast cancer, with a a special interest in cancer survivorship, patient-physician communication, and quality of care for women with breast cancer.