
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 6, 1990                   TAG: 9006060025
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MICROWAVE PACKAGING COMES UNDER FEDERAL SCRUTINY

The discovery that glue and other chemicals in microwavable packages are leaching into the foods they contain has prompted a federal review of the safety of the microwavable fish sticks, french fries, pizza, waffles and popcorn that have become increasingly popular with convenience-conscious Americans.

Food and Drug Administration scientists say signs of chemical "migration" into foods have been found in a variety of cling wraps, microwave-safe cookware and browning packages used to heat foods to temperatures not ordinarily possible in a microwave.

The FDA has not concluded that there is any danger to consumers, but its decision to draft new regulations for microwavable foods this fall is one sign of concern that microwavable packages could contaminate food with potentially harmful substances.

Microwave packaging is one of the fastest-growing segments of the retail food industry. Eight years ago, microwavable popcorn did not exist. This year, sales are expected to total $430 million.

FDA officials say preliminary studies indicate that when some microwavable packages are heated to 400 or 500 degrees, chemicals ordinarily confined to the wrapping are absorbed by the food inside them.

"Nobody is saying there is a proven danger," said Lisa Lefferts, staff scientist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "But the FDA does not know what's safe and what is not."

One source of concern is the metal-impregnated plastic strips inserted in packages of foods that are browned by microwave. The metallic strips build up heat and release it into the food.

Dr. Lester Borodinsky, an FDA chemist, said the agency got interested in the strips when employees noticed occasional scorch and burn-through marks on the popcorn packages they used in their own microwaves. Tests at an FDA laboratory in Rockville, Md., showed that the strips reached 500 degrees - well above the temperature at which such materials break down.

In one test, scientists at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition tracked a chemical used in the metallic strips to get an idea of the extent of the problem. They reported that "virtually all" of the chemical was absorbed by the food.

Lefferts said the findings are "disturbing" in light of the discovery by British researchers that a plasticizer called DEHA, which causes cancer in laboratory animals, readily leaches into fatty foods during microwave cooking - and even in refrigerators.

U.S. manufacturers say they do not use DEHA, but the FDA has asked the makers of microwave packages to submit more information about materials used in their packages.

by CNB