Could this bowl be a "death bowl"? I didn't expect it to be so harmful! Throw away any bowls at home

Expert of this article: Yang Chao, PhD in Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ceramic bowls, imitation porcelain bowls, stainless steel bowls, plastic bowls, wooden bowls, glass bowls... What kind of bowls do you use at home?

Bowls are one of the indispensable tableware for daily eating. But have you ever paid attention to the bowls you use for eating?

Some bowls made of certain materials may look beautiful, but long-term use can cause great harm to the body. The media has also repeatedly exposed "death bowls": excessive formaldehyde can turn hot soup into "poison".

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Let’s take a look at which bowls are inferior bowls and which material bowls we should choose.

Are imitation porcelain bowls called "death bowls"? What are the dangers?

The texture of imitation porcelain bowls is similar to that of ceramics. They are not only not easy to break and have good heat insulation effect, but also are oil-free and easy to clean. They are widely favored by restaurant owners.

Imitation porcelain bowls are generally made of melamine resin, which is also called melamine formaldehyde resin. It is a resin formed by the condensation reaction of melamine and formaldehyde, which is bonded and heat-cured under high temperature conditions.

Seeing this, many people are full of doubts, "Melamine"?! "Formaldehyde"?! Isn't this toxic? Why can it still be used to make tableware?

In fact, qualified quality melamine resin tableware will not produce harmful substances such as formaldehyde during normal use.

Melamine resin tableware produced by regular factories usually has a label indicating that the operating temperature is between -20℃ and 120℃. Generally speaking, melamine resin is completely non-toxic at room temperature.

The temperature of hot soup generally does not exceed 100℃, so you can use melamine resin bowls to hold soup. But you cannot use it to hold freshly fried chili oil, because the temperature of chili oil is about 150℃, and under such high temperature conditions, melamine resin will melt and release formaldehyde.

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At the same time, studies have shown that after using imitation porcelain bowls to hold 60°C vinegar for 2 hours, the migration of formaldehyde increases significantly. Therefore, it is not recommended to use imitation porcelain bowls to hold acidic liquids for a long time.

Some small factories do not have good process quality, and the raw material formaldehyde is not completely reacted, which will remain in the bowl. When the surface of the bowl is damaged, it will be released. Formaldehyde has been identified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogen and teratogen, and has become a major killer threatening human health.

Stainless steel bowls contain excessive heavy metals?

Compared with bowls made of ceramic bowls, glass bowls, imitation porcelain bowls and other materials, stainless steel bowls are the most resistant to falling.

Stainless steel is usually made of iron as the base, and then smelted with metals such as chromium, nickel, manganese, and molybdenum. It is also mixed with metal impurities such as lead and cadmium. If you use inferior stainless steel bowls to hold food, the above metal elements are likely to migrate, and when they accumulate to a certain amount in the human body, they will cause heavy metal poisoning.

The researchers used an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer method to determine the migration amounts of metal elements such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, chromium, zinc, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum, iron, cobalt, and molybdenum in stainless steel tableware. This method was used to test nearly 30 different batches of stainless steel tableware, and all twelve elements were detected.

The amount of metal elements migrated in stainless steel tableware is related to its content. The higher the content, the greater the amount of metal migration.

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At the same time, the study also shows that as the number of uses of stainless steel bowls increases, the amount of metal elements migrating from them gradually decreases, and new stainless steel bowls are more likely to migrate more metal than old stainless steel bowls.

Which material of bowl is the safest?

Plastic bowls and imitation porcelain bowls

They are all made of polymer materials. When serving hot soup, unqualified plastic bowls or imitation porcelain bowls will have the risk of formaldehyde and other harmful organic matter migrating out. If you use steel wool to wash the bowls, the microplastics produced will also be ingested by the human body.

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Stainless steel bowl

Improper use may lead to risks such as migration of harmful metal ions, so it is not suitable for holding acidic liquids such as vinegar or lemon juice for a long time.

Wooden and bamboo bowls

Bacteria and mold are easy to grow in a humid environment. Although some wooden and bamboo bowls are coated with a layer of paint to prevent the growth of microorganisms, there is a risk that this layer of paint will fall off and be ingested by the human body. Therefore, it is best to use it to hold some relatively dry foods.

Glass and ceramic bowls

Qualified tempered glass bowls and ceramic bowls have high chemical stability and good heat resistance. They can hold food at any temperature without considering the risk of migration of harmful substances.

How to choose bowls of different materials?

Plastic bowls and imitation porcelain bowls

Most of the household "plastic bowls" or "imitation porcelain bowls" on the market are now made of melamine resin. It is best to buy bowls made of melamine resin from well-known brands in large shopping malls, and do not buy "imitation porcelain bowls" whose prices are far below the market price.

Merchants of regular imitation porcelain bowls usually have instructions marked on the bowls, which are divided into: A1, A3, A5, A8 according to the specific ingredients. Be sure to choose A5 or A8, as they will have better high temperature resistance.

Another type of plastic bowl is the currently popular wheat straw plastic bowl. When purchasing, you must pay attention to whether the material on the bottom of the bowl is marked "wheat straw". Some bowls made of "starch" may also be disguised as wheat straw bowls.

Stainless steel bowl

When purchasing, check whether the label on the bottom of the bowl has the QS mark and product quality certificate, and also pay attention to the chromium and nickel content in the stainless steel. If the chromium content is around 18% and the nickel content is around 9%, you can buy it with confidence!

Glass bowl

According to different craftsmanship, they are divided into: ordinary glass bowls, tempered glass bowls and high borosilicate heat-resistant glass bowls, which can be distinguished by the logo on the bottom of the bowl.

Ordinary glass bowls are weak, easy to break, and prone to bursting when exposed to sudden changes in temperature.

Tempered glass bowls have good "fall resistance" and the maximum working temperature generally does not exceed 300°C

High borosilicate glass bowl has strong high temperature resistance and the working temperature can reach 450℃

Ceramic bowl

The chemical properties are stable and there are generally no safety issues, so you can buy it with confidence!

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