But scientists have found that if the bowl is made of melamine, heat can cause the chemical to leach out into your food, entering the body and potentially increasing the risk of health problems. This discovery adds to the evidence indicating that eating for health not only involves the choice of food but also the choice of dishes in which the food is served.

Melamine is a chemical used to make cooking utensils and some types of dishes, in addition to paper and plastic products. Regular low-dose exposure to this chemical has been associated with kidney and bladder stones, along with kidney failure and cancer in animal studies.

 

In 2008, a scandal in China involving melamine occurred when the powdered form of this chemical was added to infant formula to increase the protein content. This fiasco led to the illness of 300,000 babies, six of whom died.