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BPA-Free? Not Exactly.
Necessary News
Monday, October 10, 2011
by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director/CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World
The Bisphenol A story just gets bigger and bigger. Today, the Associated Press reported that the American Chemistry Council has asked federal regulators to phase out rules which allow BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. Sounds good, right? But this request may “head off tougher laws that would ban the chemical from other types of packaging,” according to the AP.
Not so good.
And last week, Chemical & Engineering News reported on a recent study that found people absorb BPA through their skin through coated paper products like cash register receipts. The study, conducted by New York state public health laboratory Wadsworth Center, tested 83 receipts from seven U.S. cities and found BPA in all of them—even ones labeled “BPA-free.”
Why is keeping up with BPA news so important to us at Healthy Child Healthy World? California Watch, founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting, published a pretty comprehensive answer last week when they reported a study released in the journal Molecular Endocrinology that found BPA may cause changes in breast tissue, predisposing animals to breast cancer.
Add that to a study recently reported by Environmental Health News, which showed gene alterations in newborn male rats exposed to BPA that had lasting affects on reproductive hormones when they reached adulthood. The takeaway? Yet another piece added to a growing pie of research that links the chemical to reproductive problems in animals—including humans.
The frightening thing is when you connect the dots to another study reported by Environmental Health News last week, which found that when pregnant rats are exposed to BPA, levels of the substance are higher in the fetus than the mother.
So why isn’t the FDA banning BPA—along with food colorants and other chemicals that scientists are increasingly reporting aren’t safe for people, let alone kids? The Atlantic Monthly just published an interesting summary of the answer, which comes down to two things: science and politics.
The Atlantic Monthly article also echoed what Healthy Child Healthy World has been saying for years: In the absence of legislation, parents have to do their own homework to protect their families.
And we have to take our concerns directly to manufacturers to let them know what we want. We’re still collecting signatures on our petition to tell Campbell’s soup that BPA in their cans is not “M’m, Mm Good.”
Petitions like these got BPA out of baby bottles and sippy cups. Let’s work together to get it out of our world.
Posted by Vickie on 10/17/2011 at 09:43 AM
Lots of baby retailers sell glass bottles. You can also easily find them on line if you need them. Even local drugstores like CVS, Duane Reade, Walgreen’s etc. sell them.
Posted by PeggyM on 10/17/2011 at 03:41 AM
Please be careful buying old glass bottles, they have high levels of lead. They do sell glass bottles now days, its easier to find them online.
Posted by Kathleen Fox Polizzi on 10/15/2011 at 06:15 AM
Dear Tova, you are correct theses bottles are now hard to find.
Garage sales and consignment shops, but the are even more in demand.
One might think this would be the perfect time to begin producing this product
again.
Posted by Heather on 10/14/2011 at 07:01 PM
There are glass bottles for today’s moms! You can find them on Amazon.
Posted by Vickie on 10/14/2011 at 03:31 PM
My son turned three in May. I knew from the moment I became pregnant, that I would use only glass bottles. I breast fed him first and later used glass baby bottles. They are more hygenic too and they’re easier to clean.
Its appalling that our own government doesn’t care about the public’s health.
Posted by genevieve busick on 10/14/2011 at 02:25 PM
they do still make glass bottles. I use born free glass bottles
Posted by OGray on 10/14/2011 at 01:37 PM
Evenflo still makes glass bottles and they are available at mass market retailers like Babies R Us, WalMart and Target. You can also find glass bottles made by Born Free and Life Factory. Whole Foods carries Life Factory. Babies R Us carries Born Free, so does diapers.com.
Posted by Tova Kopperud on 10/11/2011 at 06:31 PM
Kathleen, I was just about to post the same comment. When I had babies some 40-50 years ago, there were glass bottles. Since I don’t have babies now, I haven’t been looking for them, do they still exist? Maybe at antique shops, or thrift stores? Or in some hoarding grandmother’s attic? If you can’t breastfeed, do what you can, young mothers, to find glass bottles.
Posted by Samantha on 10/11/2011 at 11:12 AM
What troubles me, is that plenty of people assume that products are safe. Those of us reading this blog are probably “doing are homework” and limiting our kid’s BPA exposure. But, what about the majority of people who place their faith in Campbells and the government and plastic manufacturers? Better legislation is necessary!
Posted by Kathleen Fox Polizzi on 10/11/2011 at 06:42 AM
Why did we do away with glass bottles in the first place. They were thick
and very hard to shatter. Re-usable, able to boil and sterilize.
Chemical sepage was never an issue,
Posted by MommyTheorist on 10/10/2011 at 01:57 PM
Thank you for this eye-opening update. I’ve been told that additional chemicals in plastics will be found to be harmful in the future—not just BPA—and to avoid it altogether. It is really hard to do.
Posted by Julia's Child / Sarah P. on 10/10/2011 at 11:51 AM
The news just gets worse and worse. So troubling!
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Posted by Amber on 11/05/2011 at 10:19 PM
The next step is to read the label carefully and make sure your bottle is recognised quality brand. This will ensure that the glass or stainless is free of BPA and other chemicals and toxins. Make sure that the decorative paint used on the bottle is also non-toxic as well. You will also need to make sure that the plastic lid of the bottle is made of non-leaching BPA-free Polypropylene 5. If it is not mentioned, it may not be made with Polypropylene 5.