Food - Drink
Is There A Risk To Using Plastic Liners In Your Slow Cooker?
By JESSIE MOLLOY
Slow cooker liners are plastic bags formulated to withstand the high heat of a slow cooker and fit inside the device's inner pot so you don't have to scrub off stubborn, stuck-on food remnants ever again. To answer those who wonder if they are safe — from a nutritional and chemical standpoint, they generally are.
While these bags do contain a number of synthetic chemicals, they must meet FDA guidelines for the use of additives in order to be sold for cooking purposes in the U.S. Additionally, many brands of liners are free from BPA and its substitute BPS, which have been linked to multiple health concerns in high quantities.
With a low risk of chemical-related illness and a big reduction in cleanup time, slow cooker liners may seem like the perfect kitchen addition, but they aren’t the cheapest. A four-count box of the standard-size Reynolds liners, for example, costs $9.99 at Walmart — which in turn affects the cost-effectiveness of the slow cooker.
Furthermore, slow cooker liners, being made of nylon, are not only single-use but non-biodegradable as well. While the nylon allows them to withstand heat up to 400 degrees, ultimately making the lack of necessary cleaning an even bigger bonus, it does unfortunately jeopardize environmental safety.