Recently
from vistcost.com I have purchased a couple of jars of organic honey. One of
the reasons I made the purchase is because the container looks like a glass
jar, which I believe is safer than its plastic counterparts.
To
my surprise, the container is actually plastic, which I assume is
polycarbonate plastic containing an plasticizer
called bisphenol A.
The
US Toxicology Program has agreed that bisphenol A may pose a health risk
particularly to infants and young children. Use of plastic bottles or jars
naturally causes a concern because a study has shown that exposed to boiling
water, polycarbonate bottles release BPA 55 times faster.
Of
course, honey processors do not have to raise the temperature of honey to 100
oC for the purpose of packaging. But honey needs to be warmed to certain
temperature to transform the honey, which is in solid form at room temperature
into liquid honey before being injected into plastic jars.
If
the jar is indeed made of polycarbonate plastic, I am concerned that this
filling process may increase the release of BPA from plastic jars to honey.
I
am not certain how much BPA can be released during the process.
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