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26 January 2011 — I have already discussed my reservations about microwave ovens and their links with cancer (see myolder post: Stainless Steel in Toaster Oven Prevents Aluminum Garnish on Burrito). However, many people find them extremely useful and they are a common feature at schools and office cafeterias. Fortunately, we have discovered a fantastic new line of products which allow you to re-heat your food in a microwave without worrying about plastic touching your food. These are borosilicate glass food containers that are heat and cold resistant. They can be used to warm up food in the oven, toaster oven, microwave oven and they can also store food in the freezer. They come with an 18-8 food grade stainless steel lid featuring an ingenious silicone seal system that allows you to create an airtight seal by pressing a button. To release the seal, the button just needs to be pulled up.

2 December 2009 — Yesterday, I was looking for something to eat and found in our freezer a frozen Amy’s Burrito (unfortunately wrapped in plastic). I checked the instructions: either re-heat in a microwave or wrap in aluminum foil and re-heat in oven. Heating it up in a microwave oven was not an option. We haven’t had a microwave oven for more than 10 years.  Ever since my mother passed away of stomach cancer in 1992, I always wondered if the old microwave oven we used to have in the middle of our kitchen caused her cancer. I am convinced it was “leaking” radiation. It was one of the first models available on the market in the ’70s. I have also always wondered how the radiation affects the composition of the food, let alone of the container used to heat it up.

Heating it up in aluminum can be perilous. In contact with acidic food, aluminum tends to “melt” or disintegrate which is why you often see little holes on the aluminum foil covering a lasagna. Scary! So this was not an option either.

28 October 2009 — According to Karachi News Net, plastic goods consumption is expected to double in the next three years in India, most of it from food packaging. This news outlines a scary trend. When Jay and I visited India back in December 2002, I was impressed with how little plastic was used on a daily basis. Families could not afford to buy plastic products that would not last. Instead, they would use stainless steel containers that would be passed on from generations to generations. Most of the food was freshly prepared as refrigerators were not widely available. Tiffin food catering services were used for offering office workers fresh meals delivered to their office  doors. This is all changing as mentality is shifting from the long term to the short term. The disposable consumption mentality is making its way deep into middle class India.