Can the first cup of disposable cups of water drink?

Paper cups melted with wax over 40°C? It must be a substandard product

According to the paper cup's industry standard "QB 2294-2006 paper cup" requirements for paper cup performance, wax paper cups are used for food grade paraffin. The national standard “GB 7189-2010 Food Grade Paraffin” classifies this type of paraffin according to the melting point, and there are 8 types such as No.52, No.54 to No.66, No.52 paraffin requires a melting point of not less than 52°C and no more than 54°C. Paraffin 54 has a melting point of at least 54°C, no higher than 56°C, and so on.

In other words, if a hot drink is served, the wax layer of the waxing cup does melt, but for a qualified waxed paper cup, this temperature should be at least 50°C. What about hot drinks with waxed paper cups? Because waxed paper cups rely on a wax layer to trap water, if the wax layer melts, water will infiltrate into the cup, making the cup soft and even leaking.

And the qualified paper cups use food-grade paraffin. Even if they accidentally drink into the stomach, there is no need to worry about it. The paraffin wax will not cause any harm to the body. The real danger of drinking hot water with a cold drink cup is that the paper cup will lose its waterproofness after melting and it will easily be penetrated by hot water and burn the user.

Harmful substances in paper cups

Paper cups may incorporate a lot of harmful substances during the production process. For example, unscrupulous manufacturers use fluorescent agents. The pigments and auxiliaries used for patterning the outer walls of paper cups carry lead, arsenic, and organic solvents. They may also be stored during storage. Microbial contamination.

For the harmful substances in paper cups, the industry standards are as follows:

If it is a qualified paper cup that meets the standards, the harmful substances contained in it are few and it is not enough to cause harm to the human body. It is also impossible to completely eliminate these substances in paper cups. For example, lead and arsenic exist in nature, and their content can only be reduced during the production process. Complete removal is technically feasible, but the cost is high and has no practical significance. . It is more appropriate to limit their content to a safe range.

Is it enough to remove harmful substances in 5 minutes?

A more detailed description of the statement than “the first cup of water is not to drink” is that “the use of boiling water for four or five minutes before using disposable paper cups can fully remove the harmful substances.” This statement has a wide range of effects, some formal ones. The newspapers are recommending this "little trick."

With boiling water, just 5 minutes is enough to get rid of the harmful substances in the cup?

If there are really pathogenic bacteria in the cup, then blisters at 100°C for 5 minutes can actually kill the propagules of the general bacteria. However, this means that heating at 100°C for 5 minutes is not possible in daily use.

For lead, arsenic, and fluorescent substances, using hot water for five minutes is also very ineffective. For this problem, we can think in reverse that if we only use 100°C water for 5 minutes to remove all the remaining harmful substances, industrial production has long used this method to produce safer paper cups. Do you have to do it yourself?

As for unqualified paper cups, the number of pathogenic bacteria and the amount of other harmful substances cannot be estimated. Even if the method of using blisters for 5 minutes has a certain role, there is no guarantee that these harmful substances can be completely removed or reduced to safety. standard. The use of qualified paper cups is the best policy. For qualified paper cups, it is not necessary to drain the first glass of water.

However, the actual situation is always diversified. The above is more about the situation of buying a new paper cup. Even if it is a qualified paper cup, it would be useless if it was left for a long time after being opened. It is very possible that the microorganisms have exceeded the standard. The safest way is to treat these paper cups as unqualified products—throw away and buy new ones. .

How to choose a safe paper cup

In fact, the selection of paper cups is the same as buying food products. It is necessary to see clearly whether there are clear QS marks, manufacturer information, and production dates on the paper cups. Don't buy cheap unleaded paper cups. In addition, we must also look at the scope of application stated on the package. The regular disposable paper cup will indicate the applicable temperature of the paper cup. If you buy a cold drink cup, you must not use it to hold hot water, so as to avoid leakage and scalding.

If you eat outside, some large fast food chains can still use the paper cup with confidence. For restaurants with poor environment and no health permits, the use of paper cups cannot be guaranteed. What's more, eating in such a place does not guarantee the safety of food. Even if the "5-minute disinfection method" is really effective, it is not worthwhile. It is better not to eat in such a place.

Conclusion: The most common polyethylene coated cups on the market have no melting wax, and hot drinks are not a problem. Waxed paper cups are cold drink cups, and indeed the wax layer melts because of the hot water, but the result is that the paper cups will seep. The use of boiling water for four or five minutes does not remove the harmful substances. If it is a qualified paper cup, the first cup of water but drink is harmless. If it is an unqualified paper cup, do not drink the first few glasses of water.