Typically, Are Glass Fibers Only Harmful When Airborne? Please Answer Soon.?
I used the glass lid from an electric slow cooker to substitute a missing lid for a pot I was using for a recipe. The recipe was simmering on low heat, but since there was no “chimney” hole on the slow cooker lid, such as typical with most pot lids, there was no sufficient escape for the steam to release and the heat intensity broke the lid before I could remove it. I heard whistling, but couldn’t get there in time. The lid is shattered, but completely intact unless touched. The handle came right iff. I’m in denial, but pretty certain that some microscopic fibers of glass feel into the food. I can’t identify any visible pieces, and I even ate a little and tasted nothing conspicuous. If I continue cooking my meal, will the heat have an effect on the fibers that may be contained within the recipe? Will they be harmful if eaten? If I strain the liquid content is there a chance I can get rid of most of it? Rapid suggestions appreciated. Thanks a lot.
If there are tiny fragments of glass in the food, heat will have absolutely no effect on them. They will not decompose or anything. Tiny sharp fragments could large in the esophagus or stomach, but if they are truly microscopic, they are not likely to be harmful.
Trouble is, unless I was able to push the entire meal (not just the liquid) through a very fine mesh sieve, I would be seriously worried that I missed a small fragment that could lodge somewhere and cause damage.
Be safe. Toss this stuff out and start over.
I’d consider the meal a loss and make something else.
I hate it when I mess something up but I’d be afraid to eat it now.