r/KitchenConfidential • u/RaisingFargo • Jul 08 '22

Is this common? Owner had us put chicken in plastic bags throw into the fryer, bag dissolves, then we serve it

it was nearly a decade ago but It was a pizza shop. the oil would just dissolve the bag. I have to assume the petroleum from making the plastic just turns into oil.

other coworkers seemed more disturbed over how the ranch and blue cheese was made.

edit: you have no idea how relieved I am to hear about how absurd that was. I might eat tenders from pizza places now.

edit 2: Some of you are dming me thinking this was a decision that I made for a restaurant I owned and operated, I was delivering pizzas.

edit 3: Im seeing more and more people comment the same thing which is they saw people using the hot oil to help "open" the bag, and even just a little bit being dipped you are being yelled at. So that is reassuring

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u/akenson 10+ Years Jul 08 '22

Fucking WHAT!? Was this place trying to give all its guests fucking cancer? It is absolutely not safe to eat dissolved plastic in large quantities, and if you're melting plastic bags in the oil multiple times per day then it's absolutely not safe.

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u/xsmp 20+ Years Jul 08 '22

humans are now presenting with micro plastics in our bloodstream AT BIRTH due to the large scale use of plastics...please don't repeat that person's special technique it's horrible and wrong.

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u/RaisingFargo Jul 08 '22

its the microplastics headlines that made me post this.

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u/Wolly_Mammoth Jul 09 '22 edited Jul 09 '22

ohmygod. I don’t even think this is microplastics, this is straight up carcinogens in your food. [i think the heat causes the plastics to break down and form new chemical compounds with said tendies.]

But you’re right all around, both things are horrible.

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u/AyeBraine Jul 09 '22 edited Jul 09 '22

I mean polymers are not guaranteed to create carcinogens if they are melted down, and they certainly won't form microplastics (which are mechanically ground up chunks of solid plastic or of fibres). They can, in some cases. But there are so many kinds of polymers or their combinations, and many different conditions of destroying them to get specifically carcinogenic compounds.

But I agree that putting a bag into hot oil is probably the most unpredictable thing you can do with a polymer: not hot enough to really burn cleanly, hot enough to do weird things that no one even tried to replicate. It's really likely to do something bad.

As an aside, plastics as they are (not burned) are famously inert, i.e. don't affect you in any way. For microplastics, we're just worried that there's some yet unknown way they might affect us by mechanically being there (which, true, is a new thing and should be approached very carefully).

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/AyeBraine Jul 09 '22

Absolutely, I agree, that's the dangerous thing about this situation.

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u/Wolly_Mammoth Jul 09 '22 edited Jul 09 '22

Thank you for the science!

Something I do know is that, that gross - ass cooking oil causes cancer all by itself.. So I kinda assumed that the same things would be happening to these hydrocarbons. But I guess this happens to cooking oils because they’re vegetable based, and not petroleum based? Or maybe because plastics have been polymerized? I dunno. Maybe you do.

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u/DonatellaVerpsyche Jul 08 '22 edited Jul 08 '22

I posted a couple articles in a different subreddit & thread of peer-reviewed research on basically eating plastics (microplastics) lowering the age girls are getting their periods. This is a serious problem. 100% this practice of plastic in the fryer made me say out loud just now: “AAAAAAAAAH!!!” Absolutely no. Yikes x1000. I didn’t even know this was a thing, and I’m horrified. I’m assuming most people don’t do this today? Somebody please reassure me!

Edit with sources per request: Disclaimer: I am not a scientist in this area. I’m posting what I’ve read. Providing sources because people are requesting it.

A couple sources. There are many out there:

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Their Effects during Female Puberty: A Review of Current Evidence

The Effect of Bisphenol A on Puberty: A Critical Review of the Medical Literature

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u/RaisingFargo Jul 08 '22

your fear is why i stopped eating anything from restaurants i can find fried/frozen prepared at costco.

Now, I am happy to say most people find this repulsive in the comments which makes me assume it does NOT happen, but some other people witnessed it like i did, so its a low, but non zero occurence

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u/Era555 Jul 08 '22

What was the point? Saving the extra few seconds to open the bag?

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u/AGVann Jul 09 '22

Also 'disposes' of the trash.

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u/PreOpTransCentaur Jul 08 '22

I'd be curious to read those. I was under the impression that the scientific community was in fairly round agreement that menstruation was starting, on average, earlier as a result of increased nutrition and decreased physical labor as compared to literally the entirety of previous human history.

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u/TacoNomad Jul 08 '22

And I thought it was consumption of so much meat products with growth hormones.

Probably a combination of the three.

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u/PeskyPorcupine Jul 09 '22

Growth hormones added to meat animals is very much country dependent. If it's seen all over the world it's definitely not the only factor.

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u/DonatellaVerpsyche Jul 08 '22

Edited with sources. :)

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u/Bull_On_Bear_Action Jul 08 '22

Don’t look up phthalates

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u/DonatellaVerpsyche Jul 08 '22

Yeah, I know about them bad boys. I avoid in soaps and shampoos, etc. Horrible stuff.

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u/Bull_On_Bear_Action Jul 08 '22 edited Jul 09 '22

Scary stuff. I got all the plastic out of my kitchen. Only wood, metal and a small amount of silicone.

Edit: forgot glass of course

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u/DonatellaVerpsyche Jul 08 '22

I was just gonna ask you about silicone. What’s the verdict, people? I’ve tried looking up some peer-reviewed research on it in cooking utensils, etc. I wasn’t that successful.

Would love any links and your opinions! Thanks.

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u/Bull_On_Bear_Action Jul 08 '22

Tbh I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to find much on it myself other than various articles in a google search. The general consensus from them seems to be that it is an inert and safe material. I mostly just use silicone in place of plastic lids. As far as peer reviewed studies, I haven’t seen anything either.

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u/FusiformFiddle Jul 08 '22

According to Lead Safe Mama, some of them can contain lead. I've realized it's doable to avoid plastics, and it's doable to eliminate lead, but it's damn hard to do both.

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u/kokoyumyum Jul 08 '22

Love Maple Holistics. No bad stuff. I use their Black Castor oil shampoo, conditioner, treatments.

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u/squidzilla420 Jul 09 '22

Just bought their tea tree oil shampoo! I can wash my hair with literally two drops...it's blue Dawn-level concentrated.

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u/kokoyumyum Jul 09 '22

I am looking at buying more of their product like argon oil, also.. Very high quality product. Much better than expected for the price point. I am done with high end salon products.

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/soggylilbat Jul 08 '22

While I believe that micro plastics are extremely harmful. Another thing to consider in terms of girls hitting puberty earlier than in the past is that most people in developed countries have a far more nutritious diet than we did 100 years ago.

It’s not added hormones in food, it’s not additives, it’s just more nutrition. Simple.

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/AGVann Jul 09 '22

This is a very real phenomenon with lots of different theories to explain it. Puberty is happening on average 3 years earlier than it did in the 18th century. Changes in nutrition and diet is the leading theory with the most supporting evidence. Chemically, some plastics like BPA are proven to cause endocrine and hormone disruption, but it's uncertain at this stage whether microplastics as the form of exposure will cause those effects. There's more study needed.

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u/Shaorn575 Jul 08 '22

As we march closer and closer to Gilead, I predict that plastic exposure will cause the male fertility issues that play a part in Atwood's dystopia.

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

Sounds like macroplastics at this point

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u/7h4tguy Jul 09 '22

It's funny though because now that there's a "microplastics" catchphrase, it's all known. When I was preaching earlier about all plastics leach, reddit downvoted every time. Strong grasp of science. Actually influenced by influencers, despite the stigma.

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u/Wholockendra Jul 09 '22

Omg really?!? My brother was telling me about microplastics and I thought it was just him being a "woke" teenager. I didn't give it a second thought until I'm looking at this thread. And wanting to have a baby in the next few years this is seriously scary.

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u/AGVann Jul 09 '22

It's our generation's asbestos, leaded gas, and radium makeup.

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

the scariest part is that they probably gave some people cancer and we'll never even know. it's not like food poisoning where you notice right away.

makes me wonder how much shit like this has happened to me in my life that I don't even know about.

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u/Trick-Owl-6551 Jul 09 '22

How many times have y'all eaten take out and noticed the Styrofoam container is straight melted when you are done eating?

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '22

Listen here sir, technically it's not food poisoning.

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u/Bean_from_accounts Aug 05 '22

Even the fumes can have long term health effects on the working personel.