Nalgene bottles unsafe

Have you heard? Nalgene is phasing out their polycarbonate Lexan bottles (# 7) made with bisphenol A (BPA). This may have something to do with the Canadian government's decision today to label BPA a toxic chemical. For the full story, click here.

In fact, there are several types of plastic - used for food storage and preparation - with proven health risks. When you're at the store, just look for the recycling number on the container's underside. Here's a shopping guide:

Good: # 2 High density polyethylene (HDPE), # 4 Low density polyethylene (LDPE), # 5 Polypropylene (PP)

Bad: # 3 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), # 6 Polystyrene (PS), # 7 Polycarbonate (Other)

If you want to know more about the health risks posed by each of the "bad" plastics listed above, click here.

Of course, you may prefer to avoid plastic altogether. Glass and ceramic containers are safe and microwavable. The other, more altruistic reason to avoid plastic is that you'd be saving the environment. After all, most of the plastic waste collected by recycling companies is actually buried or burned, often in third world countries. Click here to learn why.