Styrofoam or plastic foam is still tergoloug plastic family. Styrofoam is commonly used as a protective and fragile retaining material for fragile items such as electronics. However, today the material becomes one of the preferred food packaging and drinking materials. The basic ingredients of Styrofoam are polisterin, a type of plastic that is very light, stiff, translucent and cheap but quickly brittle. Because of its weakness, polisterin is mixed with zinc and butadiene compounds.
This causes the polisterin to lose its clear nature and change its color to milk white. Then for elasticity, there is added a plastiticizer such as dioktyl pthalate POP), butyl hydroxy toluene or n butyl stearate . Plastlk foam that easily decomposes into small cell structures consumes blowing process by using chlorofluorocarbon gas (CFC). The result is a form like that is often used today.
Styrofoam or foam plastic is one of the plastic types of So many other ingredients. Styrofoam is commonly used as a protective and retaining material for fragile goods , such as electronics. However, at this time the material is also widely used as a food and beverage packaging. The use of styrofoam as a food container raises concerns and protests from various parties.
Based on various studies conducted since the 1930s, it is known that styrene, the basic ingredients of styrofoam , are mutagenic (capable of altering genes) and potential carcinogens (stimulating cancer cells). Similarly , butadiene as a reinforcing material or DOP or BHT as plasticiser it. Such materials, especially styrene, water-soluble, fat, alcohol, or acids. The longer the time of dumping and the higher the temperature, the greater the migration or movement of the toxic substances to food or drink. Especially when the food or drink that contains lots of fat or oil.
Indeed the induced toxicity is not immediately apparent. It is accumulative and in the long run there are new consequences. Meanwhile, CFC as a blowing agent in the manufacture of styrofoam is a gas that is non-toxic and flammable and very stable. Once stable, this new gas can decompose about 65-130 years. This gas will float in the air reaches the ozone layer in the atmosphere and will react and break down the protective layer of the earth. Due to breakage of ozone layer, will emerge greenhouse effect. Earth’s temperature increases, sun’s ultraviolet rays will continue to penetrate the earth, causing skin cancer.
The polystyrene foam packaging is chosen because it is able to maintain the hot / cold food, remain comfortably held, maintaining the freshness and integrity of the packaged, light, and inert food to the acidity of the food. Because of these advantages, polystyrene foam packaging is used to pack ready-to-eat foods, fresh, or that require further processing (BPOM, 2008).