| COOKING WITH ALUMINUM COOKWARE |
The intended use for home tamale steamer is expressly for steaming tamales.
We do not recommend using our steamer to cook or store acidic foods.
Cooking or storing acidic foods, such as tomato sauce or sauerkraut, in
aluminum pots may result in a very small amount of aluminum leaching into the
food. Tamales are non-acidic, wrapped in corn husks and steaming paper, and
do not come into direct contact with the steamer; therefore there is no danger
of leaching.
Still a little apprehensive? Read on...
Here’s what FDA researchers have to say about aluminum cookware:
“Aluminum is ubiquitous. It is the third most abundant element in the earth's
crust (after oxygen and silicon). It is in air, water and soil, and ultimately in the
plants and animals we eat.” Research on whether aluminum can leach from
cookware into foods indicates that "in a worst-case scenario, a person
using uncoated aluminum pans for all cooking and food storage every
day would take in an estimated 3.5 milligrams of aluminum daily." By
contrast, "one antacid tablet can contain 50 milligrams of aluminum or
more, and it is not unusual for a person with an upset stomach to
consume more than 1,000 milligrams, or 1 gram, of aluminum per day. A
buffered aspirin tablet may contain about 10 to 20 milligrams of
aluminum." If you use these products, look for aluminum-free antacids and
plain, non-buffered aspirin. The point is that any aluminum leached into foods
from aluminum cookware is generally negligible.
We do not recommend using our steamer to cook or store acidic foods.
Cooking or storing acidic foods, such as tomato sauce or sauerkraut, in
aluminum pots may result in a very small amount of aluminum leaching into the
food. Tamales are non-acidic, wrapped in corn husks and steaming paper, and
do not come into direct contact with the steamer; therefore there is no danger
of leaching.
Still a little apprehensive? Read on...
Here’s what FDA researchers have to say about aluminum cookware:
“Aluminum is ubiquitous. It is the third most abundant element in the earth's
crust (after oxygen and silicon). It is in air, water and soil, and ultimately in the
plants and animals we eat.” Research on whether aluminum can leach from
cookware into foods indicates that "in a worst-case scenario, a person
using uncoated aluminum pans for all cooking and food storage every
day would take in an estimated 3.5 milligrams of aluminum daily." By
contrast, "one antacid tablet can contain 50 milligrams of aluminum or
more, and it is not unusual for a person with an upset stomach to
consume more than 1,000 milligrams, or 1 gram, of aluminum per day. A
buffered aspirin tablet may contain about 10 to 20 milligrams of
aluminum." If you use these products, look for aluminum-free antacids and
plain, non-buffered aspirin. The point is that any aluminum leached into foods
from aluminum cookware is generally negligible.
TM