You might have heard of it recently: The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) recommends that you no longer use tableware made of melamine plastic in which bamboo or corn fibers have been added. These products must be withdrawn from the market immediately because they are harmful for our health. But does this apply to all bamboo products? Should all bamboo dishes, cutting boards, straws and cups be thrown away? The answer to that is simply NO, as long as it is 100% bamboo.

100% natural bamboo products are safe

Bamboo is the name for a group of plants that are related to the Gramineae, also known as grasses. They consist of strands that are hollow on the inside and stand upright. Bamboo is known for its growth speed, strength and durability.

100% bamboo is used as a material for creating different types of products, for example in the kitchen. When making larger products such as cutting boards and dishes, bamboo is cut into pieces and fabricated together by means of glue or braiding of the bamboo. No additives of plastics are involved in this production process. For example, when making bamboo straws the stem is only cut, thoroughly hollowed, washed and dried to become the end product.

The products that are made from 100% bamboo are completely natural and do not contain the properties of melamine bamboo products, which are still plastic products. Products made from 100% bamboo do not contain melamine or formaldehyde.