Black Plastic Cooking Utensils

[imastawka]

Anyone using them?

Heads up - they're very bad news for your health.

I've binned all of mine (they're not recyclable)  and have replaced them with wooden or bamboo utensils.

Black plastics are more likely to contain unregulated amounts of toxic chemicals including heavy metals and flame retardants which can leach into food and pose a hazard to human health. In addition, black plastics are not recyclable due to their color.

The black color is created by adding a substance called carbon black to the plastic. Carbon black which contains numerous compounds, some of which like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have carcinogenic properties that have lead the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to classify carbon black as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

It is not yet known if carbon black leaches out of black plastic containers into food during microwaving but we would not recommend microwaving food in any color of plastic container (see our fact sheet on microwaving plastics for more details.)

Why Black Plastic Is Bad News — Beyond Plastics - Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution

[countessalmirena]

I’ve already dumped all of mum’s old set two or three days ago; I have never used them and prefer food-grade silicone and also wood. But I have some nylon ones from Swiss Diamond for heavier things to flip in the wok etc. I’m going to have to replace those.

Good head’s-up, imastawka. It’s appalling and should have been known years ago.

[domino-710]

Chucked them - ordered wooden.

[imastawka]

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

I'm still finding more in my highly disorganised kitchen.

Found a soup ladle, an egg flip and some long-handled tongs.

Into the bin they went.

[countessalmirena]

I’ve just managed to order a set of Australian red hardwood utensils. They were still out of stock two days ago (after a surge of orders, I suppose), but I’ve been checking every couple of days to see if they’d restocked.

It’s hard to find this sort of item made in Australia. Plenty looked promising but then further delving showed that country of manufacture was China. I am deeply sceptical of safety assurances from Chinese manufacturers.

I could not find an Australian-made soup ladle in wood. It wasn’t as urgent a situation as stirrers and tongs and egg flippers etc, as I have a  ladle of stainless steel (made in UK), one of red silicone (regrettably manufactured in China although under contract to Cuisipro), and even a Georgian silver ladle dated to roughly 1780 but I’ll be roasted with parsnips before I use it for everyday! At any rate, I wanted a wooden one to give a consistent look and to make up for the plastic ones I’ve thrown out. Found some - manufactured by hand in the US. Very nice… ordered.

[imastawka]

I have a wooden ladle and a stainless steel one.  Had them both prior to binning the black plastic one.

When I was a kid my mum used an old teacup for a soup ladle - I was unaware there was a special utensil.     Still good - if you don't mind being a tad inelegant.    😋

[countessalmirena]

Sometimes I’m all elegance 👑 and sometimes I’m rustic as a hayseed. 👨‍🌾

😁

[springyzone]

I hadn't heard of this but what are you people using for spatulas? I have wooden spoons but I don't want a metal spatula and have never seen them in wood.

And I need tongs with a soft end. Any suggestions?

[springyzone]

And wouldn't the food grade black silicon have the same problem?

[countessalmirena]

Springy, silicone is a different matter. It doesn’t present the risks of black nylon/plastic utensils - to the best of my knowledge at this moment.

But getting all wooden utensils and implements is not a bad idea. Google Australian Woodwork for the domain (AU). As I suspected, the comprehensive kitchen bundle is now sold out again - no, there’s 1 bundle left! And it includes various spatula-type implements - and there are still the “red hardwood long tongs” and the “red hardwood kitchen tongs” (shorter ones) in stock (also incl in the bundle).