Is the material of disposable tea bag safe? Can we still make homemade tea bags with confidence?
Recently, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee WeChat team asked the Shanghai Quality Supervision and Inspection Technology Research Institute to analyze and test common tea bags on the market. It was found that the safety of 20 tea bags are that meet the standard requirements, but many tea bags do not accurately label the production license information.
Tea bags on the market are mainly divided into six different materials: ordinary plastic non-woven fabrics (PE (polyethylene), PP ( polypropylene ), PA (nylon/polyamide), PETh+PE blend ( polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene blend), and biodegradable plastic non-woven fabrics (PL A (polylactic acid)) and paper. plastic or paper material that meets the standards of food-related products can be used safely as tea bags.
From the appearance, most plastic non-woven fabrics and paper materials are almost the same. For example, the left side of the picture below is a plastic non-woven fabric (PE) tea bag, and the right side is a paper tea bag, but the appearance is almost the same. When you touch it with your hands, you feel that the paper material is slightly rough.
Among these materials, PA (nylon/polyamide) has a strong "plastic feel", which can be clearly seen to be relatively crisp. The material feels like " Organya ", and has higher permeability than other materials. You can choose the appropriate product according to the actual situation during use.
PA tea bag
If you need a high ornamentality, for example, soak flower tea in a transparent teapot, you can choose PA (nylon) material with better permeability; if tea slices are smaller or tea powder , you can choose a product with a fine texture to prevent excessive soaking; if the tea slices are larger and you want to speed up the soaking speed, you can choose a product with a relatively sparse texture. Products such as tea bags belong to the "food-related product production license" When purchasing, you should choose products marked with the "QS" mark to ensure product compliance.
Whether it is made of paper or plastic, this type of product is flammable, and the plastic material is not resistant to high temperatures. For example, PLA material, the standard states that "the use temperature must not be higher than 100℃." Therefore, when using tea bags, you should avoid heating tea, and it should not be placed in an induction cooker or oven for heating to avoid the tea bag material melting at high temperature.
In addition, due to its usage characteristics, the "tea bag" product is made of water-insoluble material (otherwise the product will dissolve together when soaking tea leaves, which will affect the use). Therefore, after using this product, it cannot be directly put into the sewer, otherwise it will easily cause blockage.
If you find that the tea bag emits a odor during use, such as "plastic smell", it may be because the plastic raw materials used in the tea bag have impurities (such as organic Small molecule ) will be released when heated, and the product should be stopped.
How to choose other products for food contact?
In addition to tea bags, plastic wrap and fresh bags for food contact are also attracting much attention. Plastic wrap directly packages food. Will harmful substances be produced under normal temperature, freezing, heating or microwave use? Previously , " Consumer Reports " has evaluated 14 plastic wrap products. For details, please click "14 plastic wrap comparison evaluation: Recommended Lekou Lekou , 3M, JD.
The plastic wrap materials on the market are mostly PVDC, PE, PVC.
PVDC plastic wrap has high barrier properties and is suitable for packaging cooked foods and meat products. It has the highest heat resistance and temperature. It can be used for microwave heating, but the price is high;
PVC plastic wrap has good transparency, has a certain viscosity, and is low-priced. If it comes into contact with oily food, heats at high temperatures or is heated in a microwave oven, the plasticizer may migrate out;
PE film is water-permeable and breathable, suitable for food freshness, and has a higher safety than PVC.
plastic wrap is the first choice for PVDC and PE material. It is not recommended to use PVC plastic wrap on any food. PVDC plastic wrap has excellent oxygen, odor and moisture resistance properties, high heat resistance, and can also be used in microwave heating. PE is non-toxic and chemically stable. It is suitable for refrigeration and preservation and freezing of vegetables, fruits and meat, but it is not suitable for heating.
In addition to plastic wrap, the plastic parts in the lunch box may also be a concern for some consumers.
The lunch boxes on the market are made of various materials. The box body may usually be made of plastic, glass or stainless steel , but the lid is generally plastic. However, most of the sealed lids of lunch boxes on the market in are made of PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene). In principle, there is generally no need to add additional plasticizer during the production process.
Moreover, the country currently has strict control over the quality and safety of plastics. GB 4806.7-2016 stipulates that the total migration amount of plastics for food contact should be ≤10 mg/dm².
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Part of the data source: Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee
