News Flash: Plastic bottles bad for babies - use glass, if you can find e'm

[Holly_Hobby]

Glass baby bottles making comeback

Stores selling out after health alarms raised about plastics

Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, April 9, 2007

Glass baby bottles, replaced decades ago by unbreakable plastic, are making such a comeback that parents can't get their hands on them. Online and brick-and-mortar retailers report a run on glass baby bottles in recent weeks that they say was spurred by reports that the most common type of plastic in baby bottles may leach a toxic chemical.

San Francisco resident Sean Mullins said he decided to switch his 6-month-old son, Mickey, from plastic to glass bottles last month despite manufacturers' insistence that plastic bottles are safe. "You want to avoid anything that could be a health risk to a baby," Mullins said. "You try to give them the best start."

...

Independent tests done for The Chronicle and reported in November found bisphenol A, a chemical that mimics estrogen, in a baby bottle and several toys. Bisphenol A is also found in the lining of food cans, some anti-cavity sealants for teeth, and electronics.

Then, in late February, Environment California, an advocacy group, released a report titled "Toxic Baby Bottles" that drew intense national media coverage.

...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/09/BOTTLES.TMP

Don't use plastic for food storage. Use glass. Especially don't use plastic for heating food in the microwave.

[MsUnderstood]

1. interesting article but the last sentence is misleading!

Don't go overboard trying to protect the public. Some plastics are okay

Environmental health advocates offer the following tips for minimizing children's exposure to bisphenol A and phthalates :

-- Avoid bottles and other food containers made of clear, hard polycarbonate plastic (made from bisphenol A), which may be labeled #7 or PC on the underside. Also avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC), labeled #3, which can contain phthalates.

-- Choose plastic food containers, bottles and cups made of #1, #2 and #4 (polyethylene) and softer, opaque #5 (polypropylene) plastics, glass or stainless steel.

-- Avoid canned foods, including baby formula, which may contain bisphenol A in their lining.

-- Avoid foods wrapped in plastic.

-- Do not microwave children's food in plastic or polystyrene.

-- Do not put plastics in the dishwasher, and dispose of any plastic containers or dishware that look scratched or hazy.

-- Do not let children put plastic toys in their mouths.

-- Choose wooden toys or look for products labeled "PVC-free," though most children's products are not labeled. Soft plastic toys such as teethers, dolls and bath books may be made of PVC.

-- Call manufacturers to find out whether products contain bisphenol A or phthalates.

Source: Environment California, Environmental Working Group

[NightWatcher]

2. what about for all of us who drink water out of plastic bottles all day?

[Holly_Hobby]

4. I personally don't use any plastic whatsoever

I can't answer your question. Glass leaches nothing, plastics do.

[NightWatcher]

5. Is that Nalgene stuff better?

[leftchick]

3. this makes me sick

I switched to the much more expensive Avent bottles 10 years ago because of the fear of pthalates from other plastics. It appears I made the wrong choice, I didn't even know they still made glass bottles. :(

[kestrel91316]

6. Endocrine disrupters. They may yet save the planet from us humans.....

Theo Colborn was onto something.

http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/

[MazeRat7]

7. Get busy living or get busy dying... there is no time to be afraid. -nt

[nosillies]

8. The studies involving baby bottles included heating the bottles for at least thirty minutes

If someone is heating their baby's formula for thirty minutes, their mental problems probably supersede any problems they may encounter through BPA exposure.

http://www.net.org/health/products/plasticwrap/migration.vtml

To quote from the link: (emphasis mine)

This data forms the basis for recommendations that parents should limit extreme temperatures for long periods of time and should wash baby bottles carefully, taking precautions not to scratch the bottles. Worn bottles should probably be discarded. Although it is unclear at what age bottles begin to leach more bisphenol-A, the results raise concerns about the use of older baby bottles.