Conscious Consumer - No Sale

Plastic Baby Bottles

Unfortunately, products marketed for infants and children are not always completely safe for use. Many contain toxic chemicals that may have detrimental health impacts for children exposed during critical stages of development. Plastic baby bottles are a case in point. Particularly plastic baby bottles made of #7 polycarbonate which leach bisphenol-A, (BPA) a suspected hormone disruptor.

Studies have linked low-dose BPA exposure with such effects as: permanent changes to genital tract; increase prostate weight; decline in testosterone; breast cells predisposed to cancer; prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer; and hyperactivity.

Organic Principle has written about the leaching of BPA in canned food as well as the associated variety of health risks. BPA is used in countless products worldwide from coffeemakers, CDs, autoparts and computers to children toys with global capacity in excess of 6.4 billion lb/year.

This molecule is highly sensitive to how the plastic is used. If heated or exposed to acid or basic solutions, the BPA leaching rates increase. Multiple cycles in a dishwasher, for example, speed the ageing/leaching process.

Rapidly accumulating evidence in the scientific literature states that current health standards for BPA should be strengthened dramatically to protect public health. They conclude that a flood of new scientific evidence on adverse effects of BPA requires a new, formal risk assessment by relevant government agencies. None has been conducted for over 15 years.

The other plastic which is of concern is Diisononyl phthalate (DINP). DINP is used to make plastic flexible and soft for those vinyl products such a teething rings, bath books, rubber ducks and nipples for baby bottles.

Power of One

Mountain Equipment Co-Op, a Vancouver-based retailer started removing water bottles and food containers that contain bisphenol A (BPA). If there are plastic baby bottles on your shelf you should do the same.

Make your vote count at the cash register. Evidence is mounting. The use of BPA in our everyday products can be a health threat. At the store, select baby bottles that are made from tempered glass or a safer non-polycarbonate plastic and let the store manager know why you are not purchasing the plastic bottles in question.

Avoid washing plastic dishware with harsh dishwashing soap and hot water, which may allow chemicals to leach out of the plastic. Also, when storing and freezing breast milk, avoid #3 PVC plastic containers, which can leach phthalates and adipates, linked to reproductive harm and liver cancers in mice. Look for 8-oz., wide-mouth glass canning jars, which won't crack when heated or chilled.

Nipples made of #3 PVC should also be avoided. Clear silicone bottle nipples and pacifiers are safer than plastic or latex ones according to pediatricians Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. and Herbert L. Needleman, M.D. and Mary Landrigan, M.P.A., in Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World (Rodale, 2001, $12.95)

Parents have the right to know about chemicals in the products they purchase for their children. In the absence of good government regulations, but armed with the knowledge that some chemicals are a cause for concern, parents can take a few simple actions to limit their child's exposure to these and other toxic chemicals.

In response to Canada 's lack of initiative, the watchdog organization, Enviromnental Defence has started an online petition to ban BPA as well as a daycare campaign for cleaner baby bottles.

 

 

 

 

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