CONSUMERS anxious to reduce their exposure to suspect plastics components won’t find the going easy. Labeling of plastics ingredients is not required in all cases, making it hard for consumers to confidently identify all products containing phthalates or bisphenol A (BPA), man-made components believed to be harmful to health. But there are some steps people can take to lower possible risk, toxicology experts say. Some blame plastics for increased rates of cancer, asthma, neurological disorders and infertility.

To reduce contact with possibly harmful plastics components in general:

n Avoid placing hot food or liquids in plastic containers. Use glass, ceramic or stainless-steel containers instead. Heating plastics to high temperatures promotes the leaching of chemicals out of containers and into the food or liquid they hold.

Freezing liquids in plastic bottles, incidentally, poses no such risk. Contrary to recent online reports that claimed freezing water releases carcinogenic materials into water, freezing actually retards the release of chemicals.

§          When heating food in a microwave oven, use only cookware that is labeled “microwave safe.”

§          Remove food from plastic wrapping before thawing or reheating in a microwave.

§          Buy products in cardboard cartons instead of plastic containers.

§          Check recycling codes on the bottom of store packages for clues about plastics components you may want to avoid: Recycling code 3 may indicate the product contains a type of phthalate known as DEHA. Recycling code 7 may mean the product contains BPA.

To avoid exposure to BPA:

§          Look for toys, baby bottles and containers claiming to be BPA-free. There’s been a recent explosion of such products, many of them priced higher than standard products. There is also a growing industry of third-party certifiers to test such claims. Gerber’s Clearview Bottles are BPA-free; a three-pack costs about $3 at Target.

§          Reduce your use of canned food; eat fresh or frozen foods instead. Bisphenol A has been found in the lining of canned food tins.

§          Reduce your use of polycarbonate and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics, both of which contain BPA. Choose alternatives such as polyethylene plastic (also labeled PETE) and containers marked with recycling code 1, 2 (HDPE) and 4 (LDPE). Polypropylene (recycling code 5, or PP) is also considered a safe choice.

§          If you use hard polycarbonate plastics (Nalgene bottles, baby bottles, sippy cups), do not heat them or use them for warm or hot liquids.

§          Do not wash polycarbonate plastic containers in the dishwasher with harsh detergents.

To minimize exposure to phthalates:

§          Look for phthalate-free toys or those approved by the European Union (EU).

§          Do not microwave or heat plastic wraps. Those that are labeled microwave-safe should be placed loosely over containers. Make sure they do not touch the food.

§          Choose personal-care products that do not contain synthetic fragrance. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires the listing of ingredients on cosmetic products sold in retail stores, it does not require the listing of individual fragrance ingredients.

§          Check the labels of nail polish. The FDA requires that phthalates be listed unless they are a fragrance ingredient. Phthalates are used in some nail polishes to reduce cracking.

Sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Institute for Agricultural and Trade Policy, National Geographic Green Guide

Rediscovering myself in Guimaras

I WAS literally hanging between earth and sky, so I hung on tightly to the rope...as well to every word that our guide was saying, lest I miss something in the instructions on how to scale down a steep cliff without breaking any bone in my body (ouch!).

Sometimes, it’s just the music that matters

THERE were the usual little young punks, those reed-thin teens dressed in black skintight jeans, even blacker shirts and boots. Their hairstyles go back to the early 1980s, with spikes on one side and long bangs on the other.

Reeling: TV treasures and one forensic fairy tale

NEW Ways of Looking. Odd, but I have been having a change of heart, or taste. A shift in aesthetics, too. Aljazeerah English, for one, has become a source of good documentaries for me, in the process changing my view of that region, the Middle East, and the dominant religion tied to the place, Islam.

Steps you can take to limit exposure to the dangers of plastic

CONSUMERS anxious to reduce their exposure to suspect plastics components won’t find the going easy.

Madonna talks about new album, helping Malawi and turning 50

NEW YORK—Timbaland and the Neptunes are so dominant as producers, they can sometimes upstage the artist they’re working with...unless that artist is Madonna.