Are Slow Cooker Liners Safe To Use?

The humble slow cooker may have ceded the spotlight to the Instant Pot and the air fryer in recent years. However, a , should you have the time to let it simmer. Some may also be hesitant to deal with a slow cooker's cleanup, since .

Luckily, there are a variety of slow cooker liners out there to make the job easier, though such liners may give cautious consumers pause. Many bags of this nature historically were produced using BPA, or Bisphenol A. This chemical is found in a lot of plastic goods, such as water bottles and microwavable food containers.



Over time, BPA can seep out of its construction and into your food or drink in trace amounts. This has led to concerns that extended exposure to BPA could affect the human body's hormone levels, as BPA reacts in the body similar to the way estrogen does. Today, slow cooker liners produced by major brands are made with nylon resin and are certified as BPA-free to address these concerns.

Such liners are FDA-approved, and officially safe to use. That said, if you would rather not contribute to increased use of potentially non-recyclable materials, know that a slow cooker can be used without one. How to use slow cooker liners safely The slow cooker liner itself is safe, but you also want to take a few steps to ensure that it's used properly.

First, slow cooker liners come in multiple sizes so you can customize the size to your bowl. Slow cookers have bowls with a capacity of 1 quart all the way up to 10 quarts. The quart capacity is typically noted on the pot itself, so take stock of it before purchasing liners.

You've most likely encountered , meant to be set into the cooker pot before adding food. Bag liners should be correctly aligned within the cooker bowl, with the bag's crease touching the center of the bowl's bottom. Then make sure the bag sits flush against the sides of the bowl and simply fold any liner that extends past the top of the bowl over the rim.

While the bag liner may appear to be sturdy, remember that it's only intended for a single use so it can't withstand much wear and tear. When the time comes to put any leftovers away, remove the food while the liner is still in the pot. Lifting a full bag liner from the bowl could cause it to come apart at its seam, making a mess and potentially burning you with hot food.

This also means that the bag liner should not be used for storing or reheating food. With plenty of available, there's no need to trust your leftovers to a flimsy bag. Recommended.