By Sirinia

THAILAND: Melamine has been making headlines over the past few weeks, with traces of the chemical being found in several products exported from China. But did you know that the same substance that makes food poisonous has probably been used to make your tableware and utensils?

Many people are now wondering whether their melamine-resin plates are safe to eat off, and asking questions about the chemicals in teflon pans and aluminium foil, too.

Visith Chavasit, director of Mahidol University's Institute of Nutrition, is reassuring. You may have melamine tableware, he says, but it shouldn't leak off the plate and contaminate your food.

Generally, melamine is difficult to break and extremely heat resistant - able to stand up to water boiled to 140 degrees celsius but it's not designed for the microwave.

It should be safe for everyday use, says Visith, but constantly putting it in the microwave oven will cause it to deteriorate faster.

Teflon pans

Teflon-coated pans can also be damaged at high heat, with scratches appearing on the surface. That's not dangerous and the pan will still function. Once the surface is deeply scratched, however, the chemical is likely to flake into your food.

But Visith says an adult can easily digest such low quantities of the chemical, which are naturally excreted.

So what about aluminium foil? Should we use the shiny or matte side when wrapping our food? Both sides do the same job of cooking, freezing and storing food. The difference has to do with the manufacturing process; one is polished while the other is not, and the shiny finish looks better for presentation.

But Visith advises caution when using foil in the microwave. It may spark, causing a fire and damaging the oven. Aluminium containers manufactured with silver or gold share the spark potential but the food is unlikely to be contaminated.

Scratch protection

While melamine-coated table- and cookware is durable, it does have a life span. Small scratches are acceptable but once the surface starts wearing through, throw them out. "Or," warns Visith, "your food will be contaminated."

Daily Xpress/Asia News Network