Revealed! Disposable Food Packs can kill ….. As many Nigerians are not aware of dangers in Polystyrene.

Olayinka Latona & Kehinde Ojedokun

“Madam ‘sharp sharp’ sell rice, beans, plantain, spaghetti, ponmo and meat inside the ‘take away container or black nylon’ for me; hope the food hot? and put plenty stew for me. I am in hurry please”. This is one of the common phenomenons among most Nigerians irrespective of status.

Uses of plastic bags for both eating in and takeaway appears to have gained grounds in recent times despite the hazards associated with the practice in that wherever you turn you find such practice.

However, Styrofoam containers are made from polystyrene; petroleum based plastic which gained popularity because it is lightweight and offers good insulation properties that keep products cold or hot. Popular uses for polystyrene include plates, cups, bowls, and ready to-go food containers.
 

The plastic bag and Styrofoam plate comes at a very economical price thus most consumers engaged in using Styrofoam container and thin black bags for their convenient sake not knowing the danger involved in sustaining this habit.

Just as the containers come in different shapes, sizes and colours, health experts have revealed that food items packed inside plastic bags for a long period are likely to be sources of very serious health challenges including the dreadful cancer. But as serious as the danger this Styrofoam containers post to health, it is surprising to know that to most food vendors in Nigeria the commonest form of packaging take-away food items is through Styrofoam containers and thin black plastic bags.

According to Chemists, the use of Styrofoam containers is a very huge problem in the society as most people are not aware that it constitutes lot of hazard to the health. Studies have it that these products leach chemicals into consumable items especially at high temperature but how dangerous are these chemicals to the human body?
 

Food Contamination

When Styrofoam containers are used to store food, chemicals injurious to human health especially the reproductive systems can leach into the food. The risk is heightened when the food is reheated while still in the Styrofoam container.
These chemicals threaten human health generally and especially the reproductive systems.

Health experts also stressed that there is migration of styrene (a colorless oily liquid that leached when eating foods packed in a polystyrene container.) If you drink beverages from polystyrene cups four times a day for three years, you may have consumed about one foam cup's worth of styrene along with your beverages!

Styrene short term levels of exposure can cause eye, nose and throat irritation while the long term levels of exposure can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, trouble in concentrating, memory problems, learning impairments, brain damage, fetal damage, fertility impairments, lung cancer and death.

Drinking

Plastic coffee mugs and water bottles leach out BPA (Bisphenol A) into your water and they do it even faster when the plastic gets hot. Have you ever left a plastic water bottle in your hot car and when you drank the hot water it tasted like plastic? I did, and if you really paid attention, your water really did taste like plastic.

HORMONAL INBALANCE

If these chemicals are stored in the body, it will get to a stage whereby it will cause cancer because they released some casinogeric chemicals into the foods that are wrapped with these materials. Besides that, this chemical causes problems like brain impairment, hormonal changes in the body and several negative changes in human body.

Paper cups

Paper cup that you get your tea or your coffee in every morning from the local coffee shop is lined with plastic. It is very hard to see but if you soak a piece of this paper cup in hot water, you will be able to peel paper layers off the plastic base, the one that is in direct contact with your coffee or tea.

Alternatives to styrofoam or what we can do

We can reduced if not curb the use of plastics, experts advised that in place of plastics, glass, wood, ceramic and stainless steel can be used to store foods and beverages rather than using Styrofoam containers.

1.        Be aware of the harmful effects of using polystyrene products and tell others.

2.        Use reusable cups at work instead of foam cups.

3.        When shopping for groceries, select items that are unwrapped, or wrapped in non-polystyrene materials: (e.g. vegetables, eggs, meat)

4.        Ask local takeaway restaurants and food suppliers to use a more environmentally friendly form of food packaging other than Styrofoam. Many food packaging alternatives made from materials such as post-consumer recycled paper and corn-plastics are now available.

PEOPLE’S TESTAMENT ON TAKE AWAY PACK  

Mrs. Oluwatoyin has this to say: “Is there anything bad in it? I have been using nylon for sometimes now since it is very easy for me. I will not bother myself carrying plastics all over the place.

Chinyere (student)

“I did not bring enough plastics to buy the food and I cannot go back home so I have to buy this N20 container to put the food, moreover it’s very handy.

Mr. Uche who is an automobile mechanic explained that he started using black thin nylon and gradually step up to using Styrofoam containers to pack foods to his workshop, asked if he is aware of the danger involve in using the container he totally disagreed saying: “Oyinbo too dey use am, I will not take that.”

Styrofoam is actually a brand name for the material, polystyrene (PS). It is denoted by #6 or PS in the triangle on the bottom of food packaging. The single-molecule form of polystyrene is known as styrene. PS foam, the type used in food packaging for products like take-away containers, supermarket meat trays, etc., is created by injecting the plastic polymer, polystyrene, with a gas-such as HCFC 22, CFC 11, or CFC 12 (all ozone destroying chlorofluorocarbons), or pentane-to expand it into that puffy material. Toxic and hazardous chemicals, including styrene, benzene and ethylene, are used to make PS foam and are a by product of PS foam production.