Mike Much in Upper Saucon Township, apparently saves the bags in which his newspapers are delivered for marinating chicken wings.

Irene “Toilet Lady” Zalutsky, who shared her homemade concoction for clearing a clogged toilet in 2009, responded, “I just wanted to make a comment about the guy who marinates his chicken wings in the newspaper bags. No way. Uh-uh. Not for me. Even if he cleans it out, it’s still unsanitary.”

Lewis Gaines of South Whitehall Township responded that, “While this frugality is nothing if not amusing, the use of non-food-grade plastics in this application is a bit extreme as food-grade plastics are processed using a more limited range of chemical-grade polymers and processing aides. General-use polymers can have contaminants that should not be ingested. While the risk is low, I strongly recommend that newspaper bags be used only for newspapers or perhaps for retrieving items such as dog poop.”

Lauren Sucher, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration responded her mother used to store used plastic bags beneath their kitchen sink in an empty milk jug to use in trash bins. (I do that too).

“In this case, a bag containing a newspaper may have mineral oil used in the ink from the newspaper on the inside surfaces of the bag,” Lauren said. “The oil would be expected to migrate to the food and be consumed. The type of mineral oil used for printing is generally not safe as a food additive due to the higher levels of carcinogenic aromatics present. Plastics not specifically made for food contact may contain other substances that are not suitable for contact with food.”