What is the danger to humans of products containing Bisphenol A or BPA?

BPA, a common component in clear plastics, is a hormone-disrupting synthetic estrogen. According to studies, even at very low doses, BPA’s mimicry of estrogen resulted in an array of health maladies including prostate and breast cancer, early onset of puberty, obesity, hyperactivity, lowered sperm count, miscarriage, diabetes, and altered immune system in animal studies. The hormone like chemical could be the reason for overall rates of lower sperm counts, faster onset of puberty, and increased prostate cancer in humans.

Over 150 scientific journals have shown the dangers of small amounts of BPA in lab animals, which is sufficient to show their potential for harm in babies. The Work Group for Safe Markets, a coalition of public health and environmental NGO's, found that 95% of bottles on the market currently contain BPA. All of the brands they tested, Avent, Evenflo, Dr. Brown’s and Disney/First Years, leached between 4.7 – 8.3 parts per billion of BPA and were purchased from major stores across the country.

The full study, “Baby's Toxic Bottle: Bisphenol A Leaching from Popular Baby Bottles,” is available to download for free on the website. The Canadian version of the study is available at http://www.toxicnation.ca.

In 2007, a study by the Environment California Research and Policy Center showed that all of the five popular bottle brands they tested leached dangerous levels of BPA. The neural, developmental and reproductive toxin is now shown to leach even more when a hot drink is added. The quantities reached as much as 7.7 parts per billion, while natural human hormones remain active in the body at thousands of times lower than 1 part per billion.

Check out our recommended products section for safer BPA free baby bottles. Safer alternatives include using glass bottles or stainless steel sippy cups. While we recommend avoiding the use of plastic especially for hot foods or drinks, the safest plastic would be marked with the #5.