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That is wonderful!! I'm not totally into those colors, but I'm a bento addict so this is great that this is up here!!

i heart these melamine lunch tiffins. they are perfect for carrying your salad, fruit and lunch every day.

you can purchase them at pearl river.

You can get steel versions of these in any Chinatown for roughly $5.

I've just been reading about plastic leaching from food containers.. scary: http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2007/08/major-improveme.html

mgn--I read that too last week and now I'm equally freaked out.

Melamine is considered one of the safe alternatives to polycarbonate, (one of) the culperate(s) responsible for the chemical leeching. BPA is the chemical of concern these days. From the Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org/node/20938

What fancyd said. I researched the heck out of this a few months ago, when the leaching issue started to become widely known, and melamine is considered safe. Which is a relief, because my toddler has some super-cute melamine plates that would break my heart to get rid of. :)

Bear in mind, too, that melamine is not microwave- or freezer-safe. This, as I understand it, is part of what makes it safe, since the leaching problem present in polycarbonates is exacerbated when these plastics are subjected to extreme heat and cold, which makes them break down faster. (As does age, which is why you should sort and discard your weatherbeaten plastic storage containers regularly.)

I <3 my bento. The healthiness quotient of my lunches skyrocketed after I got one--it's so much easier to keep an eye on your fruit and vegetable intake when your lunch is packaged in little tubs.

For some reason those give me a feeling that reminds me of elementary school... a little anxiety, a little nausea, and a little fun! I went to elementary school in Puerto Rico and we brought our lunches in a sort of Bento-type of container. I haven't seen anything like it since...It was so different when we moved to the states.

Sorry about that. But really though, those are cool looking. They could be used for other things too. It is a stylish alternative to just bringing your picnic stuff in a bag. By the way, what ever happened to the wicker picnic basket for sandwiches and fruit salads?

I really want one of these.

per the plastics thing: do nalgene bottles leach? i got one of those metal bottles and if the water so much as warms up just sitting on your desk, it tastes funny.

Just like just a grrll from bklyn said, these are tiffins not bentos. Not everything cute traces its roots to Japan. These trace back to India.

Personally I'd rather have this cute stainless version
http://www.shopintuition.com/store/p-30443.html?cat=accessories