COOKING WITH PLASTIC AS A NATURAL INGREDIENT

By William H Harriss. 6/22/2024. emperorharriss@gmail.com

Today's Menu

Ham, Cheese, and plastic Salad*

Steak and Escalloped Potatoes au-gratin, and plastic*

Fresh Salmon Cutlet with chopped spinach and new potatoes with plastic*

To all our clients, the plastic served with all our menu dishes is a natural ingredient. It is of the best quality melamine and comes naturally from the cutting boards we use in our kitchens. Everything we cut and chop on our melamine cutting boards receives a wonderful amount of micro plastic on or in your meal. So, you see we do not add the plastic, it is a natural byproduct from our cutting boards.

We also boost the amount of plastic each meal contains by washing our cutting boards using melamine foam sponges. These sponges can effortlessly clean the cutting boards after use with unique abrasiveness, requiring no extra cleaning agents. However, as these "magic" sponges wear out, they release micro-plastic fibres. The micro fibres stay on the cutting boards until they are next used to chop and cut your food ingredients. So now we can assure you are getting both microplastic slivers and chips, as well as a good helping of microfibers.

Regular diners in our restaurant can apply for a frequent diner's reward card. Our reward card gives a 10% discount to scheme member Funeral Director Homes. We guarantee that if you die from a plastic-related disease or health problem of any kind, you will benefit from the discount.

The reality of using plastic in the kitchen

Below are the reasons why you should avoid plastic cutting boards:

Chemical leaching

Plastic is a synthetic material made from polymers. The material contains chemicals like Bisphenols, DEHA, and phthalates, all endocrine disruptors. 

When you expose the board to heat, like hot food, the polymers can break down and leach the chemicals into the food.

Micro Plastic Contamination

Microscopic pieces of plastic separate from the board each time something is cut or chopped on it, and ends up in or on the food. All the cuts and grooves carved into a cutting board end up being eaten by an unsuspecting client.

Bacteria build-up

Plastic cutting boards are nonporous. While this is an advantage in the early few day life of the board, it begins to take a toll as the board develops crevices and grooves.

Then bacteria lodges in these grooves, the abrasions become the perfect breeding ground for more bacteria.

Using Foam Sponges for Cleaning

Melamine foam is composed of a poly(melamine-formaldehyde) polymer, which forms a network of hard, plastic strands. This structure creates a soft, lightweight foam that is unexpectedly abrasive, making it an ideal material for highly effective scrubby sponges.

However, as the sponges wear away from use, the foam breaks down into smaller pieces that can release microplastic fibers. These fibers can attach to or be deposited on plastic cutting boards when cleaning them. Then, when the cutting boards are later used, the microfibers become deposited on food, which creates a serious health risk to unsuspecting diners.

Yes, I know it all sounds far-fetched, but everything I wrote above is supported by recent science and studies.

According to recent research, the commonly used plastic cutting board can pose a major health hazard. A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that the boards can lead to significant amounts of microplastic in food.

The research concluded that chopping ingredients, like vegetables, on two specific types of plastic boards, polyethylene and polypropylene, releases microplastics that can cling to the food we eat. And it’s not just vegetables. A 2022 study found that chopping on these boards releases microplastics into meat, and a similar study found that microplastics can be found in and on fish, chicken, and meat purchased at markets that use plastic cutting boards.

This may come as no surprise to anyone who has used a plastic cutting board, proudly scuffed and engraved with the knife marks of a proud cook. Well, those indentations are remnants of where the plastic used to be, converted into tens of millions of microplastic particles and fed to your diners.

Microplastics are generally considered to be a hazard, but what are they? Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces, less than 5 millimetres in diameter, that can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. In the meantime, they’re polluting the environment — having been found in the clouds, air, water, soil, and sand — and they’re contaminating our bodies.

Microplastics have been found in humans’ bloodstreams, lungs, and beyond, and there’s no proven scientific way to rid them from the human body. Though medical studies are still emerging, we know that these toxins aren’t benefiting our health. Microplastics have been linked to harming the human body as a source of toxic chemicals, and they’re connected to various cancers and disorders. In fact, a study from 2023 suggests that the patients with microplastics found in their arterial plaque "had a higher risk of a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from any cause at 34 months of follow-up than those in whom MNPs [microplastics and nanoplastics] were not detected."

Plastic cutting boards are hardly the only commonly used kitchen items that create microplastics. Dishwasher detergent pods are a well-known source of microplastic pollution. Containers —including food packaging, leftover containers, ice trays, and plastic bags — can also release microplastics or nanoplastics (an even smaller version of microplastic that is invisible to the human eye). Just twisting the plastic cap of a bottle can unleash microplastics into the environment and your beverage. Ordering takeout packaged in plastic can also up your microplastic consumption. It’s a plastic world out there.

The Alternative to the Plastic Cutting Board

Unfortunately, hundreds, if not thousands, of catering equipment suppliers still stock plastic cutting boards and are more than happy to suggest which to buy.

Wooden boards are the best suggestion because they are a classic kitchen tool and with good reason. They're durable and long-lasting, gentle on your treasured knives yet attractive enough for serving and display. Furthermore, with proper care, wood cutting boards can provide a safe, clean food-prep surface, making slicing and chopping less of a chore.

Wooden boards are naturally antibacterial. Wood has consistently shown the ability to halt the growth of and kill harmful bacteria that come in contact with its surface. As moisture is naturally drawn into the board, bacteria cannot multiply and die as a result. It’s been shown that both new and well-maintained older boards maintain this ability. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have found that 99.9% of bacteria placed on a wooden chopping board begin to die completely within minutes. After being left at room temperature overnight, there were no remaining living bacteria on the wooden boards the next day. In comparison, plastic cutting boards had very little effect on dangerous microbes.

Wooden boards must be hand-washed, dried immediately, and treated with mineral oil to avoid warping and cracking.

Wooden cutting boards are typically more expensive than plastic cutting boards, although they are longer-lasting and don’t need to be replaced…unless they are thrown in the dishwasher, which will destroy them or cause them to become warped or cracked.

Please make sure your head chef gets a copy of this article.