Toxic Chemicals Found in Baby Bottles
March 5, 2007 by Amy Spangler | 4 questions or comments
credits: BBC
Yuck!
Researchers at the University of Missouri exposed three each of five brands of baby bottles to 176-degree water for 24 hours to simulate 50 to 75 sanitizing cycles in a dishwasher.
Frederick vom Saal, a biological science professor, said, “The amounts of BPA that leached from the bottles were 1,000 times higher than levels associated with changes in mammary glands, disruption of hormones, and early onset of puberty in lab animals.”
A spokesman for the industry criticized the tests, stating that they didn’t adequately simulate the real use of bottles and the exposure of babies.
Jane Kay, a science writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, conducted an interview with Pat Hunt, a biosciences professor at Washington State University at Pullman, who has studied the effects of BPA on lab animals. According to Ms. Hunt, “The simulation used in the test was appropriate. There is no single protocol for leach tests. Consumers heat, wash, and store liquid in bottles in many different ways.”
Industry representatives insist that their products meet federal standards and pose no health threat to humans. Given the controversy, experts from the National Institutes of Health will meet next week to review the data.
Until more data is available, making small changes in the products you buy and use may help reduce your child’s exposure to toxic chemicals.
Where can you get glass baby bottles? And can you pump directly into them and freeze or how should that be done?
Thanks!
There are a number of companies that produce glass baby bottles, many of which are available for purchase online. I’m not aware of any breast pump that allows you to pump directly into a glass container, as most breast pumps are designed to accommodate plastic bottles. That’s not to say there isn’t one, but again, I’m not familiar with one.
Please note that not all plastics contain bisphenol A. Before you switch from plastic bottles to glass bottles, you might want to check with your breast pump manufacturer to confirm whether their plastic bottles contain bisphenol A.
If you decide to store your breastmilk in glass containers, you will need to pour the expressed milk from the collection container into the storage container. Partial filling is recommended (approximately three-fourths full). Liquids expand as they freeze, so it’s important to leave room at the top of the container for expansion, otherwise the jar will break.
Grist [see below] is a good souce for information on plastics and kids. Grist is an environmental organization based in Seattle, Washington. I think you’ll find their content entertaining and educational!
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2007/04/02/plastics-n-kids/
Apparently glass bottles are flying off the shelves!
According to Janine DeFao, a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, “Glass bottles are making such a comeback that parents can’t get their hands on them.”
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2007/04/11/baby_gifts/index.html?sourc e=daily