They Say: BPA-Free? Maybe Not So Much
Apparently tests run on supposedly Bisphenal-A (BPA)-free baby bottles have turned up positive…for BPA. A study sponsored by the Canadian government was run in advance of a planned BPA ban, and as a control, bottles not made with polycarbonate plastic (which usually contains BPA) were tested, along with the known BPA-containing bottles.
What they found shocked health officials. There were tracesof the chemical even in bottles not made using it.
How could this be? The leading theory is that “traces of BPA found to migrate from these bottles could be artifacts of the manufacturing process” whatever that means. Then, because the non-BPA bottles leached less of the toxin than known BPA-containing bottles, they were declared “a reasonable alternative” to the BPA bottles.
Maybe it’s reasonable and maybe it’s not. But I have to quibble with calling something “free” of something that it contains–even in a trace amount. My family will be sticking to glass and stainless steel. Yours?
image: winnipegfreepress.com
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Tags: Add new tag, Avent bottles, BPA, glass baby bottles, organic eating, polycarbonate plastic, Shannon LC Cate, stainless steel alternatives, toxins in food
12 Comments
Ali commented on Aug 17 09 at 4:42 pmCan BPA be passed from mother to child in breastmilk?
Shannon LC Cate commented on Aug 17 09 at 4:46 pmNot sure if that’s a real question or tongue-in-cheek, Ali, but if I had to guess, I’d say probably. Most people have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies and it comes from canned food, water and other sources. Seeing as babies get much more dioxin than they should from breast milk, I’d be wary of assuming BPA is not in there too.
Sierra Black commented on Aug 17 09 at 5:05 pmBPA can definitely be passed through breastmilk, unfortunately. I’m really glad my family shied away from BPA-free plastics in favor of glass and metal. We even swore off canned foods, which seemed silly at the time but makes me feel better as more press comes out about these chemicals.
Shannon LC Cate commented on Aug 17 09 at 5:17 pmI’ve got 4 cans of beans in the cupboard and when they’re gone, I’m going back to dried beans exclusively until the FDA gets its head out of its @$$ and bans this stuff from all food containers/serving ware. So frustrating!
Manjari commented on Aug 17 09 at 7:54 pmI did the same thing, Shannon, and dried beans taste better anyway! I think most food tastes better when it doesn’t come in a can.
Manjari commented on Aug 17 09 at 7:55 pmoh, and my favorite source is http://www.ranchogordo.com/
Laure68 commented on Aug 17 09 at 8:13 pmShannon - good call on not using canned foods, as our highest exposure to BPA is from canned foods, not plastic bottles.
However, you really cannot blame the FDA, as the European Union has an even more lenient stance on BPA than the US does.
Shannon LC Cate commented on Aug 17 09 at 8:39 pmOf course I can blame the FDA. What difference does it make what the European Union does? The FDA is not doing its job, regardless of the price of tea in China.
Paul Potts commented on Aug 18 09 at 6:10 amdid the same thing, Shannon, and dried beans taste better anyway! http://www.coloncleansetablets.com
PlumbLucky commented on Aug 18 09 at 7:56 amArtifacts of the manufacturing process…does that mean that they simply changed the materials going into the machines that make them and there may have been trace amounts of the previous materials left in the machines? Or environmental factors/pollution? Glad to see that the lead scientist is saying that further research is needed because the test results are not what they expected.
Jeremiah commented on Aug 18 09 at 10:53 amThe source is probably dust in the manufacturing plant - i.e. environmental factors.
ZRecs has one of the most extensive guides to “BPA-free” products available, the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children’s Products, which collects information from companies regarding BPA and other chemicals.
We believe “free” has to mean for BPA just what it means for any other regulated chemical - that it is not present beyond a certain threshold of tolerance. This is the way phthalates are regulated now - “free” means less than 0.1%. How could a company even do business if they were required not just to meet existing testing standards, but whatever new tests at whatever new levels of measurement were discovered in the future?
You can read our thoughts about this issue here.
Brooke commented on Aug 18 09 at 9:59 pmI loved our glass bottles. We still use #5 plastic cups though. We tried stainless, but juice that spoils seems to make them stink forever.
