Little Changes - Food Storage

Our second small change in ridding our lives of unnecessary chemicals was to replace all of our plastic food storage containers with glass ones.  We bought a wonderful set of Pyrex glass storage containers with lids and then decided that one wasn't enough and bought a second.  These bowls come in a variety of sizes and even shapes.  They have held up so well through tons of use and washings.  I think we have broken one, and that was dropped out of the freezer onto a concrete floor.  You can get a great set for about $25 or less if you shop around.  And Pyrex is made in the USA.

We also use canning jars to store food.  They are handy, fairly inexpensive and they look pretty in a vintage sort of way.  I also lucked out when my mom gave me some beautiful Italian glass jars that measure about 1 gallon.  I store my oats and coffee in them and keep them right on my counter because they are so lovely.

 

 

So why did we decide to toss all that plastic?  Mainly because of BPA content.  In it's report on BPA the FDA states:

 

"Studies employing standardized toxicity tests have thus far supported the safety of current low levels of human exposure to BPA. However, on the basis of results from recent studies using novel approaches to test for subtle effects, both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children. In cooperation with the National Toxicology Program, FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research is carrying out in-depth studies to answer key questions and clarify uncertainties about the risks of BPA."

http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm064437.htm

There have been many reports of plastics releasing higher levels of the BPA chemical into food when used in the microwave.  Who wants chemicals leaching into their food as it is cooked?  I think of all the hundreds of times microwaved my food in those little plastic containers and I cringe.  (Now that we no longer have a microwave, this wouldn't really be an issue). See my post on Goodbye Microwave - http://naturalhealthybeautiful.blogspot.com/2013/09/goodbye-microwave-i-dont-miss-you-at-all.html

Many plastics now say BPA free on the packaging, but what other chemicals have they used to replace it and how safe are they?  We probably won't know the answer to that until further studies come out several years from now.

So, for our family this little change from plastic to glass was a great one and not terribly expensive. 
We are taking simple steps to a more natural, healthier life.