http://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-silicone-bakeware-safe-ask-annie.html
Is Silicone Bakeware Safe? Ask Annie
Dear Annie,
We want to order bracelets for our convention. The bracelets are made of silicone. I investigated the silicone. From Wikipedia, it seems like a safer product than plastics. Do you have any opinion on this?
– Maryellen, KA
Dear Maryellen,
Thank you for your question regarding the bracelets because it allows me to answer the broader question of silicone safety in general and particularly that of silicone bakeware. Is silicone safe for your wardrobe or your kitchen?
Given that silicone is such a high-volume chemical, it is disturbing to me that there is so little scientific research available about its safety.
The chemical hazard database at Scorecard repeatedly reports that there isn’t enough research to determine the hazards.
We know from an FDA study that women who had silicone breast implants that leaked had a statistically higher incidence of fibromyalgia and when the implants were removed, 97 percent had an improvement in their pain. Breastplantinfo.org notes that an FDA analysis of industry data found a significant increase in neurological symptoms, such as poor concentration, for women who had silicone implants for two years. They also cite research that reports that silicone stimulates an immune response.
What does this have to do with silicone bakeware and bracelets? The oil that makes silicone so malleable is the same oil that leaks from silicone breast implants and emerges, bit by bit, from silicone bakeware and bracelets, according to an engineer who works with it and feels the jury is out about the safety of silicone. He notes that the oil is so strong it takes powerful detergents to remove it. Until I can find otherwise, I am assuming he knows what he is talking about, and I am paying attention.
My conclusion is that the concern about silicone isn’t that it will offgas when it is heated (most bakeware can withstand 500 degrees F before it breaks down), but that very small amounts of migrating silicone oil could get on food, hands and other skin. For this reason, I wouldn’t use it in my kitchen or against my skin until more was learned about the oil. I, for one, need all the cognitive skills I can garner!
This oil has me thinking: Is this oil a greasing substitute and why silicone bakeware is famously advertised as non-stick? And worse, is a bit of the bright, unnatural color, migrating with it, even if in tiny amounts? That can’t be good.
On the other hand, silicone is touted as a great alternative to plastic, which most often contains phthalates, known endocrine disruptors and suspects in breast and prostate cancer. If I had to choose between the two, I’d choose silicone.
What to do for your bracelets? How about the old-fashioned friendship bracelet of braided cotton yarns and ribbons?
related stories
-
(50 comments)
-
(18 comments)
-
(2 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
24 comments
add your comment »thank you so much for this. I threw out my old teflon muffin pans and was going to buy the silicone but I kept getting hazy information about it (and no one at the shop knew anything). my gut instinct was making me hesitate, bright blue and supper flexible can't be good can it? now I'm considering old fashioned cast iron with natural paper cups.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Annie,
They use silicone oil on food processing machinery because it is food safe. Invariably some will get into the foodstuffs.
Machine oil would be a much worse alternative.
You're probably ingesting much more from this than you ever would by using food safe silicone bakeware.
Also, having it leak into the body cavity is very different than
ingesting a miniscule amount in food, which will pass through your digestive tract and be eliminated. Your body has to absorb the leakage from a breast implant to dispose of it. Also that's a different formulation, a gel as opposed to solid silicone and silicone has been used for decades in other medical application without issues.
Good quality silicone bakeware uses a platinum cure process (cross linking by addition), which does not form by-products.
I am much more concerned about aluminum cans and bakeware, particularly when used with acidic food and the possible connection between an excess of aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: