TISI sets new industrial standards for food-grade plastic bags
New standards for hot-storage, cold storage and microwave bags designed to make them safer for consumers
The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) under the Industry Ministry has set new standards for plastic bags for hot foods, for frozen foods and for warming foods in microwave ovens,
Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul announced on Tuesday.
She said the TISI board voted on May 21 to replace old standards for hot-storage, cold storage and microwave plastic bags to make them safer for consumers.
She said she has instructed the TISI to speed up issuance of an announcement to declare these kinds of food-grade plastic bags as controlled goods to protect consumers.
Pimphattra said Thai consumers widely use plastic bags to contain hot and cold foods or cold drinks.
Plastic bags can cause foods to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals when they are used to contain foods that are extremely hot or foods that have high levels of acid.
The minister said she also instructed the TISI to speed up the process to control other wares that could be used to contain foods or have direct contact with foods, such as plastic boxes or stainless lunch boxes.
Meanwhile, Banchong Sukrita, deputy permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry, who chairs the TISI board, said it also approved 97 other TISI standards during the meeting on May 21.
The new standards include those for student chairs, plastic chairs, and rubberwood products.
TISI secretary general Wanchai Phanomchai, meanwhile, said the new plastic-bag standards would make them safer for use to contain hot and cold foods and drinks and for warming foods in microwave ovens.
Wanchai said the new standards set limits of contamination in plastic bags by toxic heavy metals such as lead, aluminium, copper, manganese, nickel, cadmium, chromium and mercury.
Bags for containing hot foods must be able to withstand temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius, while foods for storing frozen foods must be able to withstand a temperature of minus-18 degrees, Wanchai said.
He said bags that are used to store foods for warming in microwave ovens must be able to withstand at least 80 degrees.
Paints that are used for printing on plastic bags must be food-grade paints in line with the TISI 1069 standard, he added.
The TISI will soon issue an announcement to declare plastic bags as controlled products, Wanchai concluded.
