Watchdog Wants Limits For Silicone Food Containers

The Consumer Council on Wednesday urged the government to put a limit on chemical levels in silicone food containers and cooking utensils.

The call from the consumer watchdog came after tests they conducted found nine out of 14 foldable containers and cups contained amounts of a volatile organic matter, known as siloxane, that exceeded limits set by Germany.

Germany limits the amount of volatile organic matter that can be used in food-contact silicone products to half a percent, but the council’s tests showed the products they tested contained between 0.8 and 1.4 percent.

The chair of the council’s research and testing committee, Nora Tam, said the impact of siloxanes on humans still needs to be studied, but research had shown that the livers of test animals were negatively affected by long-term exposure to high levels of the substances.

"It's something that we have to consider and you have to have some legislation to have some limits on that because we suspect that they will affect our liver system," she said.