Danger in supermarket plastic wrap
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 30, 2013
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Fifteen samples of polyvinyl chloride plastic wrap out of 16 samples sent for tests were found to contain bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), some at an alarming level. [Video clip] |
CCTV reporters visited the Tongxiang Chemical Co Ltd in Zhejiang Province, which supplies raw materials to companies such as the Wuxi Xindi Plastic Products Co and Shanghai Junshi Plastic Products Co. Tongxiang claimed its materials only contained dioctyl adipate (DOA), which is permitted under Chinese standards.
However, CCTV said DEHA was found in its sample products sent for tests.
The cost of raw materials for plastic wrap containing DEHA is 8,000 yuan (US$929) per ton compared with 12,000 yuan for plastic wraps containing DOA.
CCTV said Xu Xiaofeng, a business manager at the Tongxiang company, admitted it used DEHA as a raw material for plastic wrap due to its lower cost.
CCTV said polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic wrap accounts for about 70 percent of the market due to its lower cost compared with polyethylene (PE), and it is widely used at supermarkets to wrap vegetables, fruits and meat.
Experts said consumers should avoid buying PVC plastic wrap for domestic use and use the PE variety.
At the Hualian chain store on Dagu Road in Shanghai, one customer said she had heard about the problem. Although she had no idea how to tell PVC from PE, she said she took care when using plastic wrap.
"I neither put it in the microwave or use it to wrap meat or anything with oil," she said.
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