Are Plastic Japanese Bento Boxes Safe?

 

Hakoya elephant bento box from Ichiban Kan.

I've been hearing for a while about toxic plastics like BPA's. I thought it was an urban myth. But after seeing this episode of Expose on PBS, it convinced me to start getting rid of toxic plastics from my home, starting with my kitchen. I know it may take years to rid my entire home of toxic stuff.

For starters, I went through my daughter's dishes, cups, and containers. Anything with a label of #1, #2, #4, and #5 got to stay. Anything with #3, #6, and #7 got tossed. Then I examined all my bento gear...no numbers on the bottom. What to do?

I found a very informative post What are plastic Japanese bento boxes made of? on one of my favorite blogs, JustBento. JustBento says "None of the major Japanese bento box manufacturers use polycarbonate...any bento box from a reputable Japanese maker should be perfectly safe."

For now, I'm keeping my bento gear made in Japan. And I'm tossing out the questionable gear made in China, or ones without numbers on the bottom.

For more info, via JustBento, check out The Green Guide.

Comments

[Flooracoilync]

Fun! But I can not understand how frequently updated blog?
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[Lia]

Thanks for the info! very useful :) but it's so hard to let go of those cute bento boxes :'(