Could ABS plastic leach into food?

[ks6349]

Recently I found this set (See attached image) and sold only $6 here (Sales). I am so interested. However, just one thought - I think Lego bricks are made of ABS instead of PP(Polypropylene), which is considered to be food safe. Could ABS leach into food?

Edited February 6, 2020 by ks6349

[icm]

I think the Gear items like that are generally made by other manufacturers under contract, not directly by Lego.  The plastic is probably different than the plastic used in the toys and is probably food safe.

[Mylenium]

Styrol and Butadien may contain sulfur and other elements as stabilizers which may form unwanted reaction byproducts and diffuse out of the plastic when it starts to age/ decompose or gets in contact with solvents, which also includes food oils and other lipids. That could at least affect the flavor, though I'm pretty sure the overall levels would be under any critical thresholds when it comes to toxicity and such. In the end until the early 1990s nobody cared much for this and by today's standards unsuitable types of plastic were used for the oddest things. For ABS also the specifics will depend on the overall mixture quite likely. After all, there's many flavors of this and even trivial stuff as the color and pigment used bear influence on such matters...

Mylenium

[MAB]

I would imagine a company the size of lego safety check their food grade products before putting them on the market.

 

However, ABS is safe anyway. Have a guess why DUPLO is allowed to be sold for using with toddlers, who often chew on bricks or similar toys when they are teething. In fact, many baby teethers are made from ABS.

 

[koalayummies]

I am always leaning about plastic here. Everything I know about plastic I learned from EB.

Except that connecting transparent clear to another transparent clear is a risky endeavor. My fingertips learned that one. 

[ShaydDeGrai]

The short answer is 'Yes'

For those interested in a more comprehensive/boring discussion:

ABS is not a good choice for food contact items. Great for toys, safe to handle at comfortable ambient temperatures, even (reasonably) safe to suck on for brief periods of time, but not something you want having prolonged contact with your food.  As has been pointed out, various chemicals can leech out into and/or react with the food as a result of prolonged surface contact.  This is especially bad for fans of 3D printing because that process makes the surface prone to micro-particle deposition (which the food will then pick up) and also often adds lubricants and lead residue from the brass printing head to the mix.  Injection molding is better in this regard but then you have to worry about possible release agents and other environmental contaminants and, while a glassed (i.e. the shiny smooth result of high temperature and pressure injection molding as opposed to the micro-pitting and layering you get from 3D printing) surface leeches less, it still leeches.

You also probably wouldn't want to keep things made from ABS near open flames (like a gas range top) because burning ABS releases hydrogen cyanide which is both extremely poisonous and flammable.

Now that said, I don't think these shakers actually are ABS, I had a set once and they didn't feel or sound quite the same as comparably sized Duplo bricks.   I have a vague recollection from when I first got them that they claimed to be microwave and dishwasher safe, suggesting a different melting point than ABS as well (well, technically ABS is amorphous so it doesn't really have a discrete melting point, but let's not split that hair - suffice it to say that your ABS Lego can lose it clutch power just sitting in a hot car in summer and it can start to deform due to the force of gravity at lower temperatures than it takes to brew a decent cup of tea).  

In the US, a dead giveaway would be the Recycling Code.  The US standard breaks things down into seven general families of plastics (identified by number) and then adds a letter code for a particular chemical (if known).  In general, categories 1, 2, 4 and 5 consist exclusively of food safe plastics so the letter code is less important there.  Other contries have different codes (I think China currently holds the record for the most comprehensive hallmarks) but most aren't organized in such a way that you can just say "oh it's a 2, this baby bottle is safe for my infant to drink from,' without knowing the first thing about chemistry.

If it's ABS it should have a code that reads either '7', '7 ABS' or '7 OTHER' (code 7 is a mixed bag and a lot of the plastics in this category have issues with BPA leeching as well as other issues that would make them less suitable for food contact - but, to be fair, this is also where some of the most innovative new compounds (like bioplastics) are landing and some of those are quite safe for food contact).  Codes '01 PET' '2 HDPE' '3 V' '4 LDPE' '5 PP' and '6 PS' are all considered food safe and are widely used for food and beverage containers here in the states. 

[dr_spock]

3D printing ABS isn't that great either,  The fumes stink and probably not good for you with the long term exposure.  Proper ventilation a must.

LEGO® isn't all ABS.  Polycarbonate for clear pieces. Polyethylene for trees and leaves. Nylon for some strings.  I suspect the shakers would be some sort of food grade plastic.  You can contact their customer service if the information is not on the box.

If you're really into that food safety regulatory stuff, you can read up on the US Food & Drug Administration site's food contact substances:

https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/packaging-food-contact-substances-fcs

 

[TeriXeri]

I have one of those 2x4 brick lunchbox type containers and it says PP 05 (Polypropylene) , not ABS.

Edited November 23, 2019 by TeriXeri