Can plastic be put in the microwave?

Nowadays, technology is very advanced, and the development of technology is of great help to people's daily lives. Microwave oven is one of the products of high technology, which can heat food quickly and conveniently. However, there are some taboos when using microwave ovens to heat food, such as not using ordinary plastic products or metal products to hold food, etc. Below we will explain in detail whether plastic can be placed in a microwave oven?

Can plastic packaging boxes be heated?

There are several types of packaging boxes, including PP, photodegradable PP, pulp molding, paper lunch boxes and disposable PS. During work, many office workers like to pack their meals into take-out boxes in advance and then heat them in the microwave. They can enjoy hot meals in a few minutes. However, have you ever checked whether the take-out boxes you use meet the standards?

The heating time will be different depending on the material of the takeaway box. If you use a glass takeaway box to heat rice, the heating time will be the shortest, while a plastic takeaway box will take longer to heat. In addition, more things need to be paid attention to when heating food in a plastic takeaway box. First of all, you should look at the lid or bottom of the plastic takeaway box. There will be some numbers on it in a triangle made up of scissors, and there will be some characters below the numbers. These identify the material of the takeaway box and tell you whether it can be heated in a microwave.

Everyone must remember that only the plastic lunch box with the number 5 inside the triangle formed by the scissors can be put into the microwave for heating, and there will be the English letters PP under the number 5, which means that the material of the lunch box is polypropylene. The characteristics of polypropylene are that it can be used and washed repeatedly, and it is resistant to high temperatures. Therefore, if you want to choose a plastic takeaway box for heating, you should choose this type; however, you also need to remind everyone to open the lid, because the lid is not necessarily made of polypropylene. If it is made of other materials, it will deform under high temperature conditions, and toxic and harmful ingredients will dissolve.

The meaning of the number 1: If the number inside the triangle formed by the scissors is 5, it means that the plastic is made of PET. This type of plastic must not be heated in a microwave oven, and even pouring hot water into it is not allowed. This type of plastic is commonly found in the purified water bottles we usually drink, as well as various beverage bottles.

The meaning of the number 2: If the number inside the triangle formed by the scissors is 2, it means that the plastic is made of HDPE. This type of plastic is not recommended for recycling, let alone heating. It contains a lot of chemical components and is commonly used to hold medicines, shower gels, detergents and other products.

The meaning of the number 3: If the number inside the triangle formed by the scissors is 3, it means that the plastic is made of PVC. PVC is not heat-resistant. Under high temperature conditions or when the temperature exceeds 81 degrees, it is easy to produce toxic and harmful ingredients. Therefore, it cannot be heated in a microwave oven.

The meaning of the number 4: If the number inside the triangle formed by the scissors is 4, it means that the plastic is LDPE, which is generally used to make plastic wrap and other products.

The meaning of the number 6: If the number inside the triangle formed by the scissors is 6, it means that the plastic is PS material. This type of material cannot be heated at high temperature, otherwise it will produce toxic and harmful chemical components and easily form polystyrene, which can easily affect your health.