While it’s generally OK to store food in plastic containers labeled with a 1, 2, 4, or 5, you should try to use glass. Plastic marked with a 3, 6, and 7 should be used minimally around food to ...

About 460 million metric tons of the material are made each year, ... heat up plastic containers, ... and to proof it, they'll say cover the bowl with plastic wrap," she says.