Are bamboo cups and plates safe for health?

It is increasingly common to find bamboo plates, cups and cutlery. Its appearance is slightly different from plastic, the surfaces are matte and appear more organic.

Manufacturers present them as a natural and sustainable alternative to plastic, free of bisphenol (BPA) and flalats, but how are they made? are they really safe for health? are they biodegradable?

They are not just bamboo, they can also contain melamine and formaldehyde

On the labels, the manufacturers only mention bamboo, a very attractive plant because it offers a resistant fiber and its cultivation can be sustainable, but it is easy to assume that there must be something else. And so it is. Most cups and dinnerware are molded from a mixture of bamboo powder or fiber, cornmeal, melamine, and formaldehyde. The first two ingredients are optimal; the last two, no.

Melamine is an organic compound that mixes with formaldehyde to create an adhesive resin that binds bamboo powder and cornmeal into a moldable mass. In this mass, the proportion of bamboo is usually between 20 and 40%.

Melamine and formaldehyde dissolve in food

The problem is that both melamine and formaldehyde can be transferred to food, especially when it is acidic (tomato, vinegar, orange juice…) or hot (above 70ºC, as usually happens in the case of cups for coffee or tea).

According to a study published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association – Internal Medicine, The long-term consequences of the repeated ingestion of small amounts of melamine.

In high doses, it increases the risk of kidney failure and can even cause death. Symptoms of melanin poisoning are irritability, blood in the urine, and high blood pressure.

Formaldehyde, which is mixed with melamine, is a volatile chemical compound with many applications in industry (from the manufacture of plastics and plywood to cosmetics).

Its health effects depend on the dose and the route of entry into the body (by breathing, through the skin or ingested), but are related to irritation, allergic reactions, endocrine disruption and, in prolonged exposure to small doses, with cancer.

Discovered by analysis in Germany and Poland

According to an analysis of 13 bamboo tableware, carried out by the research office for food control and animal health of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, three out of four products released melamine into food above the limits established by European standards (2.5 mg per kg) and all were considered unmarketable due, among other reasons, to misleading labels (one of the products even presented itself as an “alternative to melamine ” when in fact it was made with that substance).

The Germans have not been the only ones to discover irregularities. In December 2018, Polish authorities tested bamboo cups sold in Aldi supermarkets and found that released an amount of formaldehyde higher than legally allowed.

However, similar products continue to be marketed throughout Europe because they are not correctly declared at customs and thus escape control.

It should be noted that melamine is a material authorized to manufacture tableware, which are especially intended for children, because they are more resistant than glass or ceramic.

On the other hand, in addition to all the health risks mentioned, it turns out that melamine is a material that cannot be recycled.

The alternative to melamine is also not recommended

Some bamboo cups and plates are made without melamine. They resort to a material called polylactic acid (PLA), which is obtained from fermented corn.

it’s a plastic biodegradablewhich is used in surgery as a material resorbable by the body without consequence.

At first it seems like a much better option, however, based on tests in Baden-Wuerttemberg, these vessels show alterations after being in contact with acidic foods at 70 ºC for two hours. For this reason, the German office considers that they are not suitable for containing coffee, tea or other hot and acidic foods.

It is possible that some bamboo cups or plates are made in a different way, without melamine or formaldehyde and with materials more resistant than polylactic acid. The manufacturer of such a product should provide full information to the consumer about the actual composition and safety of the material in order to distinguish it from lower quality and unsafe products.

References:

Iris Eckstein, Magdalena Lubecki and Uwe Lauber. Consumer Fraud: Falsely Declared “Ecological” Bamboo Tableware Contains Much Plastic. www.ua-bw.deChia-Fang Wu et al. A Crossover Study of Noodle Soup Consumption in Melamine Bowls and Total Melamine Excretion in Urine. JAMA Internal Medicine.