Waste plastic made of "three no" straws: bright colors, more toxic hot juice accelerated release

Hot soy milk, ice drinks, fresh milk... These delicious drinks are inseparable from the "company" of straws. As everyone knows, a small straw can damage the liver, kidneys or even cause cancer. A reporter from the "Life Times" recently visited a number of dining establishments in Beijing and found that both the large restaurants and the street-side tea shops suffered abuse of three straws.

The wholesale market sells 2 cents a "I bought breakfast here almost every day. The milk was a bit hot that day. I plugged in the plastic straw provided by the stall owner and took a sip of it directly. But I had a mouthful of plastic taste." Mr. Liu told reporters . Afterwards, the reporter interviewed dozens of people and learned that most people would use straws at ordinary times, referring to the health problems of drinking straw, but they were helpless. "Online said that poor quality straws are made from recycled and worn woven bags. Can they be non-toxic?" People in the interview analyzed that because plastic straws are provided to consumers free of charge, operators will choose cheap ones based on cost considerations. Quality is difficult to guarantee.

Beijing Dongjiao Market is a large-scale integrated wholesale market covering an area of ​​150,000 square meters. The reporter visited the sales center of more than 10 wholesale disposable products in the market. At one of the booths, he saw a large number of colorful drinking straws packed in simple plastic bags and a strong plastic smell.

At the entrance of the largest one-off hotel supplies sales center in the eastern suburbs market, galloping trucks have repeatedly raised dust and scattered around, disorganizing some unscrambled drinking straws. Reporters readily picked up a pack of straws and found that although there are manufacturers, materials, and other information, there is no QS logo, and there is no production date, shelf life, production license number and other information. When inquiring about whether this kind of drinking straw would have a plastic taste, the owner replied with disdain: “Plastic is made of plastic, and it is normal to have a taste of it.” The store also said that the price of the straw is very popular, with an average of 2 per root. Dividends, if you take more goods, you can offer more. The reporter asked the boss about the heat-resistant temperature of the straw. The store responded and said, “Look, you don’t come to get the goods. Those who get the goods pick the cheap ones.

Afterwards, the reporter visited several large supermarkets in the urban area and found that most of the straws in supermarkets were lighter in color. The packaging bags were marked with materials, shelf life, manufacturers, contact telephone numbers, and production permission signs. They also specified heat and cold resistance. temperature. The price of a 50 pack is about 5 yuan, and each one is nearly 1 cent, which is 5 times the wholesale market price.

After a reporter called a formal enterprise producing straws in Zhejiang Province, he learned that according to the current national regulations, the raw material for producing straws should be “polypropylene”, which is PP material marked on the packaging. “Like the straws we manufacture, we will also specialize Labeling words similar to 'food-grade pellets' allows consumers to feel comfortable using them."

Garbage pipettes harm health In the three kinds of straws purchased by the reporter, colored straw plastics taste the most. What are the problems with stinking straws and what are the risks to human health? This reporter interviewed related experts.

1. The raw material may be waste plastic. Dong Jinshi, general secretary of the International Food Packaging Association, said that the raw materials for straws are generally high-density polyethylene, and the polyethylene raw materials are classified into food grade and non-food grade, and the food grade is 1000-2000 yuan/ton more expensive than the non-food grade. The difference in the cost of drinking straws made from different materials is very obvious. The raw material for the production of "three-nothing" plastic straws may be industrial-grade polyethylene or even waste plastics.

2. Use pigments to cover quality issues. Dong Jinshi emphasized that some unscrupulous merchants will stain straws in order to cover up the variegated straws made of waste plastics. The brighter the colors, the greater the potential safety risks. “The quality of plastic straws that are too bright in color is definitely a problem. Once you use it to drink juice or hot drinks, harmful substances will be released, which will cause harm to the human body.” Dong Jinshi said.

3. Heat emits toxic substances. "If the straw encounters a hot drink and emits a plastic smell, it certainly belongs to the problem straw, because the normal PP, can withstand high temperatures above 100 °C, will not emit plastic flavor when exposed to heat." China Plastics Processing Industry Association professional degradable plastics Deputy Chairman Tang Saichen emphasized that some unscrupulous merchants often use waste plastics for recycling in order to reduce costs and maximize profits, and it is difficult to ensure a safe and hygienic production environment. Inevitably, some pathogenic bacteria will be contaminated. When such a straw is used, toxic and harmful substances in the plastic will dissolve in the water, and long-term use will cause harm to the human body's liver and nervous system, especially after high-temperature burn, the harm to the human body is even greater.

In fact, as early as the end of November 2009, the National Standard for Polypropylene Drinking Straw was released and officially implemented in May 2010. In accordance with relevant regulations, disposable plastic straws are food-related products, and production enterprises must obtain food-related product production license certificates issued by the quality supervision department. On the packaging, there must be a QS logo, and in accordance with national laws and regulations marked with the relevant use of materials, plant name, site. "Any straw that does not have the above conditions is a problem straw," said a staff member of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.

Dong Jinshi told reporters that color straws are best not to be used, and bright colors are likely to be used to cover up impurities. Its raw material does not rule out the possibility of reusing industrial-grade plastics or even waste plastics. Identifying the problem The pipette can follow three steps: The first is to "see" the information on the production bag, the date of manufacture, the shelf life, the production license and the number (QS logo). Then identify the color, do not buy colorful as far as possible, the deep color should pay special attention. Finally, you should “smell” and smell the pungent odor before the drinking straw touches the beverage. If there is odor, it must be a problem straw.

With regard to the poor quality straws everywhere, Tang Saichen called for greater efforts to monitor the quality of plastic products and resolutely crack down on the production and sale of "three nothing" drinking straws on the market. At the same time, consumers' neglect of the issue of drinking straw has tolerated, to a certain extent, the rampant “three nothing” straws. If there is a place where consumers find that they have poor quality straws, they can report it and cooperate with related departments to investigate and deal with them.