Pharmacist warns against storing sachet, bottled water, soft drinks under sun
A pharmacist and lecturer at the University of Jos, Mrs. Rotkang Okunlola, has cautioned people against keeping water (sachet, bottled and dispensing jugs) and soft drinks under the sun.
Okunlola gave the caution in an interview in Jos on Sunday, saying that the habit can be detrimental to human health in the long run.
She said when they get hotter, most plastic items release a tiny amount of chemical into the beverages or water they contain, asserting that “the hotter it gets the chemical bonds in the plastic increasingly break down and chemicals are more likely to seep into the content.”
However, the academic said that the amount of chemicals that enters the content are too little to cause immediate health problems, but that the long-term effects of consuming drinks or water with small doses of plastics can add up in a big way in the long run to cause grievous health challenges.
The pharmacist said that antimony is used to manufacture the plastics, and when such plastics are kept under the sun, the antimony seeps into the content and can be toxic in high doses.
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She said in the long run when the plastic contents build up in the body it can be very hazardous and very detrimental to health as it can cause various incurable ailments.
She advised that all consumables, especially those in plastic containers should not be kept directly under the sun as this leads to various chemical reactions in the content.
Okunola also advised that such items be kept in cool places away from strong odours or anything that can contaminate them and recommended that people should insist on purchasing soft drinks and water that are well kept.
