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—Tupperware, the iconic kitchen brand that’s been a household name for decades, recently received a lifeline from its creditors, but the business still faces extreme challenges. Given the brand’s prospects, you might be wondering how long your stash of its food storage containers is safe to use — especially if it’s vintage.
Figuring out the answer to that question for any type of reusable plastic food storage products — not just Tupperware — often comes down to understanding what they’re made of. Bisphenol A, more commonly known as BPA, is a chemical that, according to the United States Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has been used for years in the production of certain plastics to make them more durable and shatter-resistant. Unfortunately, BPA can also make them potential health hazards.
In human studies, BPA exposure has been associated with a higher risk of a wide range of health conditions or issues, such as infertility, altered fetal growth of the fetus, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and aggression among children, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, and heart disease, said Laura Vandenberg, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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In addition to food containers, BPA has been used in various other products, such as shatterproof windows, water bottles and eyewear, and in resins coating metal food cans, bottle tops and water supply pipes. The composition of your plastic product can depend on the year you bought it, Vandenberg said.
Since March 2010, items Tupperware sells in the US and Canada are BPA-free, according to its website.
CNN has contacted Tupperware for comment but has not received a response.
“We worry about those hard, shatter-resistant plastics that were made a decade ago, that were made with BPA,” Vandenberg said. “Every single time that they’re used, they’re leaching small amounts of BPA out of them. … Even the low levels of BPA that leach from consumer plastics, canned food linings or other consumer goods … have been shown to be associated with harm, and people certainly should care about it.
“If it’s not safe the day you buy it, it’s not safe 10 years later,” Vandenberg said. In fact, the longer you own them, the riskier they are for your health, she added.
Putting stress on plastic food containers by washing them in the dishwasher or with rough scrub brushes “increase the ability of that plastic to leach whatever it was made out of,” Vandenberg said. Scratches can create deep grooves for bacteria to reside in as well, said James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports, a nonprofit research, testing and consumer advocacy organization.
Putting highly acidic foods — such as tomatoes or citrus fruits — in these products does the same thing, Vandenberg said.
The “microwave safe” label on some plastic containers doesn’t mean the product is totally safe from a health standpoint, she added.
“Some of the plasticizers and chemicals can transfer from the plastic containers into the food during heating,” Rogers said. “So we totally advocate that you transfer your food from a plastic container into a glass bowl and microwave it that way.”
Discoloration of a container can signal that a chemical change has occurred in the plastic, Vandenberg said. “Usually that is happening because there’s lots of little micro-holes or micro-tears,” she explained. “And now there’s an interaction with the food and the plastic (because the plastic is degrading). So if the plastic is discolored, it’s telling you that that plastic is breaking down.”
Any damaged plastic food storage containers should be discarded, said Sam Cole, global director of product certification, food equipment and chemicals at the National Safety Foundation, an organization facilitating development of public health standards and certification programs for the protection of food, water, consumer products and the environment.
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The majority of daily exposure to BPA happens through diet, according to the US Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “The reason why we worry about BPA is that, going all the way back to the 1930s when it was tested for use as a pharmaceutical, it was clear that it acts like an estrogen,” Vandenberg said. “Estrogen is a pretty powerful hormone that is important for reproduction and fertility, but also really important for the development of sex organs, development of the brain and controlling metabolism.
“It has a role in muscle development and fat development,” she added. “So even small amounts of tinkering with the estrogen or estrogen pathways in our body can have really serious outcomes for our health.”
The shape of the molecules in BPA make it more likely to bind to estrogen receptors, Vandenberg added. “I avoid using those reusable plastics as much as possible, because I have yet to see good evidence that there are consumer plastics that are free from estrogenic properties.”
Generally, plastics with the label “PC” (for polycarbonate) or recycling codes three or seven likely contain BPA, according to Vandenberg and the US Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Some manufacturers have been phasing BPA and other bisphenols, sometimes called analogues, out of their products due to public attention — rather than regulatory action — but not all, Vandenberg said.
“Think about replacing them with something that’s chemically inert, like glass,” Vandenberg said. “If you can’t afford to replace everything all at once, replace them one at a time.”
Glass food storage containers are a safer option.
VioletaStoimenova/E+/Getty Images“I know it’s heavy, it can break and all the rest of that, but we think that the advantages to using glass containers for storing food and reheating food outweigh the risks,” Rogers said.
You can also opt for porcelain, ceramic or stainless-steel containers, especially for hot foods and liquids, according to Vandenberg and the US Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Plastic is a material that surrounds us, but it’s complicated to understand. We tackled five big plastics questions we got from Green Americans like you.
It’s hard to grasp the sheer volume of plastic in our lives, and many people are wondering, is it really safe? Since 1950, more than 8.5 billion tons of plastic have been produced. In the seven or so minutes it will take you to read this article, there will be seven million more plastic water bottles on the planet. Half of plastic produced is designed only to be used once. If you look around your kitchen you’ll see a lot of it. This article aims to answer five of the biggest questions on plastics safety we get at Green America.
Don’t see your question? This article is the second in a series—check out “Your Top 10 Plastics Questions, Answered” for the answers to questions about single-use plastics, how China processes our recycling, and more.
The FDA banned BPA from infant formula packaging and sippy cups for kids in 2013 following many states and counties banning the plastic chemical from various packaging items.
Since BPA has gotten a lot of bad press, many companies are phasing it out, including in invisible inner liners of canned goods and coating on receipt paper. But now, those products that may be labeled “BPA-free” are likely using similar chemicals with less regulation but similar effects, so they should still be avoided. The journal of Environmental Research published a report showing over 100 studies confirming significant effects from exposure even to low doses of BPA, enough to cause hormone disruption or cancer. We can expect that may be true of BPS and other chemicals of this group, though we don’t know for sure.
Only about 9% of plastic is recycled, the EPA reported in 2018 (the most recent year with reported data). Plastic is the most complicated material to recycle because each number (noted on the bottom usually, but not always) designates a different chemical makeup. With current technology, the numbers can’t be mixed because they melt at different temperatures. Municipal funding, community pressure, and demand for recycled plastics determine what gets recycled.
Only 9% of plastic is recycled
It’s not the fault of regular people that more plastic isn’t recycled. While tossing your water bottle into the trash instead of the recycling bin isn’t ideal, most of the problem comes from manufacturers making plastics that are difficult to recycle or inadequate infrastructure to facilitate recycling. A 2020 report from NPR and PBS Frontline found that the plastic industry, as early as 1974, spent millions on campaigns to convince the public that recycling could keep the environment clean, then made billions on selling plastic. Check out our Plastic Free Toolkit for dozens of tips on how to reduce the amount of plastic you add to your life at
greenamerica.org/plastic-free-toolkit.
Even though only about 9% of plastic is recycled, that’s over 3 million tons, which can get made into a lot of recycled plastic items.
Plastics degrade each time they’re processed, unlike glass and aluminum which are infinitely recyclable. That means plastic is unlikely to be recycled into something of equal value. Recycled plastic bottles often get made into polyester fabrics, building materials, and more.
…Unfortunately, we should be concerned about both.
As far as creating microplastics, we don’t have much control over that. Microplastics are prevalent because there is so much plastic out there that breaks apart relatively easily—but corporations are to blame for both situations. Besides reducing your demand for plastics, one thing you can do at home is to be gentle to your laundry, since so much of our clothing is also made from synthetic materials. Washing only full loads and only when items are truly dirty are great first steps for reducing microplastics from your laundry.
A 2019 study commissioned by WWF and carried out by the University of Newcastle Australia, combined data on microplastic ingestion by people and found that we could be ingesting about 5 grams of plastic a week in drinking water—that’s the weight of a nickel. People who drink bottled water are exposed to much more than those who drink tap, since their water is stored in plastic. Most water filters have not been tested for microplastics filtration, but pore size in filters should be a good measure. A 2018 study from State University of New York, Fredonia, found microplastics as small as 6.5 microns.
We could be ingesting about 5 grams of plastic a week in drinking water—that's the weight of a nickel.
The effect of plastic particles on our bodies is not yet understood. The smaller the particle, the harder it is to study its effects. It’s potentially similar to other tiny particles that can build up and cause serious damage, like particle pollution from car exhaust, or thin fibers of asbestos, according to a 2021 article from the journal Nature.
It’s probably time to toss your Tupperware and other very old plastic containers. Dr. Larry Silver, medical advisor for the Collaborative on Health and the Environment wrote that the older the plastic container, the greater the leaching activity. The same is true for non-food-grade plastics too, like shower curtains, which shed phthalates more as they age, especially when encouraged by heat and moisture—like your food containers—according to Mike Schade at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
The Tupperware brand has officially been manufacturing without BPA since March 2010, but as we learned before, that means they are likely manufacturing with one of thousands of lesser-known chemicals. Truly vintage Tupperware should not be used for food either—the stuff made famous by parties in the 70s has tested positive for lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, depending on the color and style.
If your plastics, no matter the brand, are scratched up or cloudy, it’s time for them to go. To make the most of the newer containers you do have, don’t put them in the microwave or dishwasher, and avoid storing acidic or greasy foods in plastic.
Have more questions about plastic safety? If you have an unanswered question, send us an email!
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