English researcher Andrew Turner studied 200 samples of various dishes, including new and used ones which revealed that 139 of them contained lead, and 134 contained another chemical element hazardous to health - cadmium.
It is proven that a mug or other tableware made of melamine are very dangerous to human. Melamine is the general name for a powdery substance used for different purposes. The dishes are made from melamine-formaldehyde resin. A pretty scary name suggests that the raw material contains formaldehyde, which stabilizes the plastic after a thermal reaction. Light and beautiful plates and cups are most often made from this material. They don't break, look a lot like porcelain, and are cheap. They are mainly produced in Türkiye and China. The fact is that melamine contains formaldehyde gas, which is poisonous. However, the manufacturers themselves claim that their product is absolutely safe if you do not heat it above 70. Yet, some experts are confident that formaldehyde may be released not only into hot soup, but also into any food with alkaline or acidic properties, even weak ones.
Is it possible to use melamine tableware?
Melamine became known in 1834. It was then that the German scientist Justus von Liebig isolated colorless crystals in the laboratory.
Melamine began to be actively used in production in 1930 as a powder combined with polymers and dyes to form a synthetic resin.
This resin serves as raw material for dishes. Under the pressure and temperature, it gains the required shape.
Melamine is a thermosetting plastic. It is light, hard and impact resistant. Melamine dishes are classified as unbreakable. But if you crush them several times on tile or asphalt, chips may appear on the dishes’ rim.
Melamine-formaldehyde polymers are considered non-hazardous and harmless to human health. They begin to decompose only at temperatures above 130 C. And only at this temperature do decomposition products, including melamine and formaldehyde, begin to be released from melamine dishes.
According to the head of the toxicology laboratory of the Lviv Regional Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, Anatoly Artemenko, the plastic contains formaldehyde, which dissolves in food and can cause serious harm to the gastrointestinal tract. It also affects the central nervous system and respiratory tract. Poisoning occurs gradually, provokes cancer, eczema, destroys the liver, spleen, and kidneys.
Formaldehyde is used mainly in the manufacture of wood panels for furniture, finishing films for chipboards, raw materials for disinfection, paint, paper, textiles, and chemicals.
Sometimes asbestos is added to melamine products to make the products sturdy, which is unacceptable for the production of tableware - it can cause cancer.
Bright designs on melamine dishes are dangerous. The paint with which it is painted is not covered with a protective glaze and releases toxic toxic components.
If you choose unbreakable dishes, according to a toxicologist, it is better to use stainless steel tableware. Enameled cookware coated with glaze is also safe. “But if enamel cookware is chipped, it cannot be used anymore because of oxidation on the base, which is also dangerous to health,” added Anatoly Artemenko.
How dangerous are melamine and formaldehyde in tableware?
The name "melamine formaldehyde resin" can be intimidating. But despite this, melamine in dishes does not pose any harm to human health. This substance is not absorbed and is quickly eliminated from the body. In addition, research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer has not confirmed the carcinogenicity of melamine.
According to the International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS), melamine is no more toxic and poisonous than table salt.
Melamine tableware contains approximately the same amount of formaldehyde as polyethene. But we actively use polyethene for transporting and storing food.
Moreover, a serious manufacturer is interested in producing high-quality melamine tableware. But there are also pseudo-manufacturers for whom compliance with the requirements of the regulations is empty words. This is why low-quality melamine tableware can be found on the counters. But, mainly, it is supplied from China and Thailand. Such cutlery can indeed be dangerous and poisonous.
✔ 1. Smell. The dishes should not emit any foreign, and especially chemical, odours.
✔ 2. Surface. Melamine dishes should have a flat, smooth surface. The edges of the dishes should be rounded and uniform in thickness.
✔ 3. Resistance of coloured elements. Wipe the coloured elements of the melamine tableware with a cloth soaked in water for several minutes. There should be no coloured marks left on the napkin after such procedures.
✔ 4. Certificate of conformity and hygienic conclusion. These documents are proof that the cookware will be of high quality and that it has passed all the necessary tests and tests.
How to recognize melamine tableware:
- On the back of such dishes there is a stamp “melamine”. If there are no identification marks, this is another reason to think about it.
- A plate or cup made of melamine is much lighter than glassware or porcelain and does not break. If you knock on it, it will make a dull sound.
Enamelled dishes are already closer to the truth, but only if there are no cracks or chips on them. However, it cannot be used on fire or gas burners - the temperature is too high. It’s worth forgetting about hard sponges. The colour of the enamel is also important - grey, white, light green and brown tones are recognized as the safest.
Glass and ceramic dishes were considered the safest for health. It is food-neutral. However, gold rims on saucers and cups can contain a whole bunch of dangerous metals. First of all, lead, which settles in the bone marrow, kidneys and liver, causes cancer.
The most useful dishes are not ceramic, but glass and stainless steel. Therefore, ideally, you need to buy pots and pans made of glass, Pyrex, and stainless steel.
Often, ceramic cookware is made of metal and coated with a non-stick material (usually silicon). However, some brands may use coatings that contain heavy metals.
New Teflon cookware uses PFAs, but scientists have also linked them to health problems.
A healthier choice is glass and stainless steel cookware because it does not have any coating, unlike ceramic and Teflon products.
Factchecker.uz verdict: True