Question from Mai
Hi Debra,
I was wondering if you have any information about POM plastic (polyoxymethylene )? Most of the food processors I’ve found that come with a glass work bowl have POM plastic on the blade unit.
Debra’s Answer
Here’s the Product Safety Sheet for polyoxymethylene
It’s a plastic of the thermoplastic type. It is sold as a small plastic pellet which is then melted at high temperatures to then be molded into plastic parts.
“When this product is heated to high temperatures in order to produce a molded or extruded part, small amounts of formaldehyde gas is given off. The release of formaldehyde during the manufacture of parts made from Ultraform® POM is the primary concern…”
“Plastic parts made from Ultraform® POM…do not present a risk from exposure to formaldehyde, since the parts are no longer heated to high enough temperatures to produce formaldehyde.”
I’m not concerned about this on the blade unit of a food processor.
As this study shows formaldehyde is also released during mechanical abrasion which would be the case inside a food processor: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15821686
Hmmm. Well, this study was done on using this plastic in the body on a continuous basis. I’m not sure how much formaldehyde exposure you would get from a few seconds of chopping or a minute of pureeing.
That said, I rarely use my food processor any more. I’ve changed what I eat, and a side benefit is I only need a couple of knives.
Hi Debra,
Thank you so much for answering my question, that puts my mind to ease!
Mai, could you please share which brands of food processors you have found with glass work bowls? The last time I tried to find one (years back), I wasn’t able to locate any such processors.
TA, Hamilton Beach makes a food chopper that comes with a glass work bowl. It’s small, but I think it’s worth it when you avoid plastic!
Here’s a link:
https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/ensemble-3-cup-glass-bowl-chopper-72861
Russell Hobbs also makes a mini chopper with a glass bowl, although I’m not sure if it’s compatible with a U.S voltage.
Unfortunately this may be discontinued. This page says “out of stock” and amazon shows a different product for Hamilton Beach “Ensemble.”
That’s strange, I just bought the chopper on amazon right after your reply to my question!
Here is a working link:
http://amzn.to/2vBcbZz
Black & Decker also has a glass bowl chopper:
http://amzn.to/2vBSyAw
I just noticed that they might be different Hamilton products, but they are both glass though, so it shouldn’t matter:)
Also here’s a glass bowl chopper from Betty Crocker: http://amzn.to/2vxnofu
Thanks for all these links. I’m sure others will want glass bowl choppers.