Today’s consumer knows that they should try to avoid Bisphenol-A in their daily
lives. Low doses of BPA can lead to a wide range of health problems. Several states have imposed bans on the use of BPA in baby bottles, and many companies have voluntarily substituted
alternatives for the petroleum-based plasticizer, which research has now linked
with everything from birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems, to cancer, attention deficit disorder, and even asthma. As evidence continues to mount on the dangers of BPA many of us feel it is imperative to eliminate those products containing BPA, and search out ones without. But does BPA Free mean Safe?
We can’t be sure any plastic is safe as long as we don’t know what chemicals are in the plastic and as long as those chemicals have not been tested. Overall, some 80,000 chemicals are currently on the market, with only a small portion tested for safety. Even fewer have been evaluated for specific effects, such as the BPA-induced scrambling of hormone signals.
A recent University of Texas study confirms that hormone-disrupting chemicals leach from almost all plastics, even BPA-free plastics. According to the researchers, one reason BPA concerns us is because it has Estrogenic Activity (EA), meaning it mimics the hormone estrogen in the body.
Researchers concluded almost all commercially available plastic products
sampled, independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source, leached chemicals having reliably-detectable EA, including those advertised as BPA-free. In some cases, BPA-free products
released chemicals having more EA than BPA-containing products.
The researchers tested baby bottles made from PES (polyethersulfone), a new plastic being used to replace BPA in hard plastic bottles. Many of today’s BPA-FREE baby bottles are made
from PES. What did they find? Some PES baby bottles released more EA chemicals
than those with BPA in them!
According to Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Toxicology Program in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
The new work simply emphasizes the point that different isn’t always better.”When we move to alternatives,” she said, “I think it’s important that we test the alternatives to make sure we’re not going to do the same thing or something worse than the compound we’re removing.”
Just because a plastic product is labeled BPA-free doesn’t mean it is safe to put
food or beverages inside. More testing needs to be accomplished and until sufficient data emerges, it may be premature to label so called BPA-free plastics as safe.
5Phases is dedicated to a healthy and organic lifestyle for babies. We develop products that minimize harmful exposure to chemicals, giving baby the best start possible. For more information, visit our Facebook page or online @ www.5phases.com.
