Okay… BPA in plastics … we’ve been through this so, sooo much but I have to give you the latest…
Remember that independent study that the FDA was waiting for?… well, the results are in, and drumroll please… an independent panel of scientists is criticizing the FDA for “under-estimating the dangers of BPA in plastics”! (*well, no look of surprise on my face here!) The panel goes on to say that the margin of safety established by the FDA is “inadequate”.
Why do I feel like we’ve all known this all along?!?! So, let’s just boil it down and here are some facts:
- Avoid recycle #7. Most are full of BPA. If you’re buying a product and see it on the bottom, PUT IT BACK!
- Avoid recycle #3 also – it indicates Phthalates (linked to reproduction problems, early puberty, obesity and diabetes).
- Recycle numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 are best… safe and recyclable.
- Simply buy reusable bottles that are BPA and Phthalate-free!
Also, remember that dishwashers and microwaves breakdown the chemicals in these products further (the reason for the concern about baby bottles, coupled with the knowledge that young ones are most at risk). If they’ve turned hazy, they are especially dangerous because they have already broken down.
What more do they need to know? These chemicals are simply used as hardeners and stabilizers of plastics (to increase durability) and we know plastics can be made WITHOUT them!
What’s it going to take before they recognize that human safety and well-being is so much more important than the gain and well-being of the big manufacturers that create these toxic plastics and the companies who use them??? They said they were awaiting the results of this independent study so…
Now… FDA? What’cha gonna do?
(P.S. Don’t you just love how recycle #7 is coded as “Other”… ironic, no?)
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Once again you have come to the rescue. It was not to long ago that a few of us were at the office talking (mind you it was all business) and the discussion came up about reusing bottles and checking the code number on the bottom of the bottles. So you can imagine how wrong we were on what the numbers were for. I can’t wait to print this out and take to the office and post in the break room.
Thanks for doing the research and making me look like I’m smart. Keep up the great work!!
Thanks for continuing to spread the word. I got my little boy off plastics almost 3 years ago, when I first heard about BPA. Unfortunately he was just turning 1 and we had (of course) used plastic bottles until then. It’s astounding that these bottles are still on the shelf. My sister-in-law is having her 3rd baby and I recently found glass bottles for her…they are the cutest things ever and I thought other moms would want to know about them. They are BabyLife Weego glass bottles with silicon sleeves.
Hi, nice blog. i am especially interested in the BPA stuff. i will quote from your blog if you don’t mind (with acknowledgements, it goes without saying i guess:)) in my articles. i write on yoga and wellness, but recently i have also started blogging on issues around food safety. i have two young kids and it’s a real challenge steering them in the right direction as far as food and drink is concerned because they are bombarded by commercials on the one hand and peer pressure on the other. i am worried about being a control freak of a mother when it comes to their choices as humans (especially where food and lifestyle is concerned) and am trying to strike a balance between letting them be and showing them the difference between whats healthy (in a big picture sense as well as at a micro level) and whats not. anyway, i am writing now on all of this stuff in my own blog http://look-before-you-eat.blogspot.com and hopefully one day they will read it and understand me
)
see you ’round and hope you will peep in on me sometime.
Nandithas last blog post..More on breath….
Matt – happy to keep you BPA-free, sugar! I would love to know what everyone thought those numbers were about thought!
amy – it’s never too late to change, right? Sad that we even have to worry about bad stuff in baby bottles!… and thatnks for sharing another resource!
Nanditha – thanks! Please feel free to pull any information from my blog…that’s what I’m here for! And steering our kids in the right direction is the RIGHT thing to do. Informed kids make good choices… as adults too. My mom is the one that set me on the proper “green path!” You keep up the good work too!
I also avoid BPA at all costs, but am finding it a bit frustrating that it’s also in canned goods. (Tried to make dried beans and it didn’t go over so well.) However, I was frustrated with the fact that a product like mandarin oranges can pretty much only be found in cans or Dole makes it in a plastic container with the number 7. I e-mailed them to see if they’d be changing the packaging and they responded saying 7 is a catch-all for all “other” plastics and that they don’t use BPA in theirs but some oxygenated plastic so it falls in that category! So confusing. I want to believe them but then the powers that be need to be a bit more clear on this labelling business, because had I not asked, I wouldn’t buy that product again. So confusing.
OneGreenMommys last blog post..Paper, Paper, Paper
OneGreenMommy – It IS so confusing. The thing I’ve learned with #7 is that because it is a combination of various plastics, it often needs some type of hardener or stablizer, thus the BPA. Some #7s do not use BPA, and that is why you can purchase plastic that is #7 and touts itself as BPA-free., but the vast majority does, that’s why we need to lump them all together in the “bad” category until you can disprove it with an individual product. It’s mind boggling… and then I have to ask, if they CAN be made without BPA then why aren’t they ALL being made without BPA! Come on, FDA!!!! Let’s get some regulations!
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