The word on the street

12/09/07

Parents warned feeding bottles and teethers could be toxic

Parents who use plastic feeding bottles and teethers could be putting their babies and young children at risk of developmental, neural and reproductive problems new research has shown.

According to studies conducted in the US by an independent laboratory, several popular baby bottle brands and teethers have been found to transfer potentially harmful toxic chemicals known as bisphenol A.

Bisphenol A is used in the production of epoxy resins and clear polycarbonate plastics which is then moulded into baby bottles, reusable drinking bottles and microwaveable containers.

When the bottles become scratched and worn during use and sterilisation, the chemical leaks (leaches) into the bottle contents and is subsequently consumed by the user.

Kathryn Crawford from the independent baby forum and parenting resource www.thebabywebsite.com, says this is worrying indeed and should act as a warning bell for parents to replace baby bottles and teethers on a more regular basis.

“It has been known for some time that scratched and worn polycarbonate feeding bottles are leaching increasing levels of bisphenol A, yet these risks are not being highlighted to either new or more experienced parents in the UK.

“Given their size and increased exposure to these products, young children, especially babies, face the highest risk.

“However, rather than disposing of these items altogether as suggested by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, we would suggest to parents in the UK to replace these products with those certified free of bisphenol A or with new bottles on a more regular basis until the hazards can be fully assessed and verified.”

The laboratory study was carried out in cooperation with the Environment California Research and Policy Centre.

Five popular baby bottle brands were tested - Avent, Dr Brown’s, Evenflo, Gerber and Playtex.

Of these, all five led to contamination by bisphenol A at levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory animal studies. The risk to humans, however, has not been fully correlated.

Although bisphenol A has been banned in toys and child care products for children under 3 years old, no restrictions currently apply to bottles, food containers or teethers.

Seeking to address this, new EU legislation was introduced in 2005 where manufacturers of baby feeding products are obliged to test for the leaching of bisphenol A.

In the past such tests have always included checks for well known dangerous chemicals such as lead and mercury in the components of the bottle.

Mrs Crawford added: “Alarmingly, these regulations do not seem to have filtered through to the UK as yet. We believe parents have the right to know about the chemicals in the products they buy for their children and would urge policy makers to address this as a matter of urgency.”

In the meantime, parents wanting to avoid or limit the risk to their children could:

  • Select glass or safer polycarbonate bottles
  • Avoid heating up food or drinks in plastic containers
  • Avoid washing plastic dishes, bottles and containers with harsh dishwashing soap and hot water as these can speed up the rate of contamination
  • Look for ‘PVC-free’ on the labels of soft plastic toys, teethers and plastic containers

For more info, log on to www.thebabywebsite.com

Further information contact, M & M Communications on 079 5869 0659 or buzz@mandmcomms.com