Thursday, June 12, 2008

Toxic Baby Bottles and Cups!

Many of you are in the process of getting rid of plastic cups and other food items at your house after all the warnings about the chemical Bisphenol A or BPA. I know I am. And the latest story on this makes me even more certain of my decision!


Here's the latest on the chemical Bisphenol-A from WHOI:

The National Institute of Health will imminently release a federal report on Bisphenol-A, or BPA, a chemical that causes cancer, obesity and neurological disorders in animals. BPA leaches into food and drinks from most hard plastics, including 95 percent of baby bottles. Because babies and children are developing at such a rapid rate, even extremely low doses of BPA pose a threat.

In response to the growing scientific consensus about the dangers of BPA, safe alternatives and state legislation to ban the chemical have emerged nationwide. Nine states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania) are currently considering bills related to BPAs dangers to children. Several companies, including the fastest-growing baby bottle company in the country, BornFree, are now producing safe BPA-free bottles.
(Those are the ones I bought.)

You can find more information at NewBornFree.com

There is also a blog called Z Recommends that seems to do a lot of research on Bisphenol A products.

And here's the Bisphenol-A website that says the plastic is still safe to use.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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10 comments:

Maria said...

Also, in avoiding BPA, watch which canned foods you buy. Almost every brand lines their cans with the chemical, and in highly acidic foods, it leaches even more quickly. Canned foods have BPA at concentrations that far exceed those of baby bottles, and people are eating that food in large quantities. Fortunately, I like to cook from scratch, but in the event of needing something quick, I am (for now anyway) opting for alternative packaging (frozen, other containers) even when the alternative is not environmentally friendly/recyclable.

Jen Christensen said...

I am doomed! I have no time to cook from scratch. Is the part about the canned foods on the Z recommends website? I want to check that out! Thanks! Jen

Maria said...

I read about it on non-toxic Kids and the EWG's websites.

http://www.non-toxickids.net/2008/05/cutting-back-on-canned-goods-because-of.html
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola

Instead of cans, try frozen or glass if you need to save time.

Part of our ability in our house to cook from scratch is that we don't make complicated dishes when we are in a rush, and we avoid most meat. Also, we freeze ahead, which I have talked to you about before. :)

This time of year, we eat a lot of vegetables (steamed, grilled, raw...) with pasta and/or cheese and crackers.

Jen Christensen said...

I was motivated to cook veggies for the kids for lunch after reading your post. No luck! And they were so good! I couldn't even get the baby to eat them. He would chew them and spit them out! Ugh!

Maria said...

I'm sorry. I know it sucks and you're trying. I think I have an advantage, because that is all my son knows. Know what I mean? Sure, he gets a lot of things at daycare that I don't feed him, but he associates those things with daycare. At home, he knows he gets healthy stuff. And crackers. With PB, because right now, those are his fav! LOL!

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to let people know that Walmart has BPA free bottles under their label and they are WAY cheaper than the other brands. I think it was 3 bottles for like $3-4. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to afford too many new bottles and was happy to find the Walmart bottles. I have to admit, I haven't switched her spoons and she is rarely drinking out of a sippy cup yet (10 months). Anyone know these are safe: tupperware, rubbermaid, disposable plastic, etc? thanks!

Shannon said...

My best friend was able to exchange all her Avent bottles at Babies "R Us and was given *for free* the $$ equivalent in new, safe Medela bottles.

I don't know if this is highly publicized or if it's all the stores, but I thought I would throw it out there! Go Babies 'R Us!

Nathan's mom said...

I was wondering if anyone knew of any sippy cups that are safe. I am using some Playtex ones and am assuming they are not safe. I checked the Born free website and they are all out.

Nathan's mom said...

I was wondering if anyone knew of any sippy cups that are safe. I am using some Playtex ones and am assuming they are not safe. I checked the Born free website and they are all out.

Maria said...

For those with questions, I HIGHLY recommend the Zrecs site. They have done and continue to do their research diligently as to the content of bottles, sippy cups and other eating aids for babies and children. They also have a text messaging service and a print out cheat card so you don't have to wonder while you are at the store.

The link is in Jen's post.

 
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