Skip aluminium foil for wrapping food; here’s why. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)
Our earliest memories of taking tiffin to schools and then to the workplace always have one constant – the aluminium foil. It’s advertised as keeping food fresh and preventing it from spoiling, but what we don’t know is whether wrapping in aluminium foil is safe for one’s health. Turns out, it is not, and experts say this is a surefire way to expose yourself to harmful health hazards.
Foil was introduced in kitchens to be used for baking purposes, and was never intended to become a storage accessory. The major problem with using aluminium foil for covering, wrapping and preserving food is that it doesn’t completely seal your food off from the air, which leaves it at the risk of becoming contaminated, asserted Luve Oberoi, Asahi Kasei India Pvt Ltd.
The foil provides an easy landing ground for harmful micro-organisms to settle and infect the food. Even hot items can become contaminated because bacteria like Staph and Bacillus Cereus that cause food-borne illnesses, actually produce toxins when heated and more importantly, don’t get destroyed by high temperature.
But if not the foil, then what is the best way to preserve food? Here are a few methods you can try and benefit from:
Air-tight containers
Pack the food in air-tight containers. The tough seal of the containers ensures that nothing enters or leaks from the box. In addition to that, storing food in air-tight containers also helps to speed up the cooling process and keeps bacteria off your food.
Wrapping the food tightly in plastic wrap
It is essential that whenever plastic is used to wrap food, it is of very high quality. Plastic wrap that comes with PVDC cling film should be used because it is far superior to normal PVC or PE cling film. Storing the food in such wrappings has many benefits but the major one is that it keeps the food fresh for a longer time by preventing entry of moisture, which in turn keeps the food from going bad. This makes it pretty ideal for storing raw vegetables, fruits, poultry, seafood, roti dough, among others without any fear of discoloration or oxidization.
You can significantly reduce the wastage of food in your kitchen by opting for this method. Also, tight plastic wraps don’t allow the scent of the food to seep through.
Freezing is the best option
Make sure to freeze your food. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)
Tried and tested by humans through millennia, freezing the food is the best way to ensure its longevity. Food spoiling micro-organisms become inactive at freezing temperatures and can’t harm the food items.