Warning Alert: Polycarbonate Baby Bottles Containing BPA

Just received a breaking news e-mail from the authors of Baby Bargains regarding the use of polycarbonate bottles made from a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). Not good news considering we had used them for our child and I know others have used them as well.

If you don't want to read the whole e-mail content blurb below:

Link to an article that talks about the issue at hand can be found here.

Three examples of polycarbonate bottles containing BPA can be found here.

Examples of BPA-free bottles can be found here.

Stay away from bottles that have a #7 on their recycling label as they are most likely made of polycarbonate (and contain BPA). Damn, my Nalgene bottle has a friggen 7 on it! Although they say this. Sheesh, is anything safe in this world?


e-mail content blurb:

Baby Bargains book withdraws recommendation for certain plastic baby bottles

(BOULDER, CO) The authors of BABY BARGAINS, the country’s best-selling guide to baby products (700,000 copies in print), today called for parents to stop using baby bottles and sippy cups made of polycarbonate plastic.

Polycarbonate bottles are made from a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). In an article in a peer-reviewed medical journal last week, a group of 38 scientists said BPA caused a significant health risk.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plastic3aug03,0,1828523.story?coll=la-home-nation

Also last week, a federal panel convened by the National Institutes of Health said there is “some concern” the chemical could cause behavioral and neurological problems in young children.

Specifically, parents should stop using Avent’s Natural Feeding Bottle and Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow (or any bottle made of polycarbonate plastic)---these products were previously recommended by BABY BARGAINS.

“All baby bottles and sippy cups made of polycarbonate plastic should be avoided,” said author and consumer advocate Denise Fields. “If you are shopping for bottles, chose an alternative made from BPA-free plastic or glass. If you have polycarbonate bottles, throw them out.”

So, what is BPA? How is it harmful? See the FAQ below for answers.

Q. What the heck is BPA? Why is it dangerous?

Clear plastic baby bottles (as well as some food containers and water bottles) are made of polycarbonate, which contains a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). It is the BPA that makes the hard, clear plastic bottles . . . well, hard and clear.

Here’s the rub: BPA’s chemical bond with polycarbonate breaks down over time—especially with repeated washings or heating of the bottle. As a result, BPA leaches out of the plastic bottle or sippy cup . . . and into the liquid (that is, breast milk or formula).

While most data on BPA comes from animal research, studies show even low-levels of BPA MAY be linked to everything from early puberty to breast cancer, to attention and developmental problems.

We wrote a detailed article on BPA and plastic baby bottles in our Baby 411 book. Click here to read it online on our web site:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/baby411/bpa.html

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Q. Do we really know that these bottles are dangerous to humans?

No, we don’t. There have been no human studies on BPA—so far, researchers have only found problems in animal research.

There is a split opinion here among scientists. The same federal panel that said it had “some concern” about behavioral and developmental problems in babies also stated that links to other ailments like birth defects and adult ailments were “negligible.” Of course, the plastics industry says BPA is completely safe.

That contrasts to the group of 38 scientists who last week called the health threat from BPA as “significant.”

But the fact the federal panel said there were “some concerns” for the health of babies tipped the balance for us.

As parents, we realize it can be hard to decide what to do when the debate is so heated. As always, our mantra is “show us the science.” We believe enough science is now in to recommend a change in course.

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Q. Isn’t it a bit alarmist to say stop using these bottles? When will we know for certain BPA is harmful to humans?

The truth is we won’t know for YEARS if there is a human health problem from BPA. And it could be YEARS more before the government decides to take some regulatory action.

We have consulted with pediatricians and other experts before making this decision. The consensus of these experts is: if concerns exist today (and that is backed up by reputable scientific research), then why not limit your baby’s exposure to this chemical?

Babies are especially at risk when it comes to exposure to harmful chemicals—that’s one thing we all can agree on.

The bottom line: we suggest stop using polycarbonate baby bottles and sippy cups NOW. Since there are quite a few BPA-free bottles on the market (see below), we believe this is an easy call for parents.

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Q. The Juvenile Products Manufacturer’s Association said plastic baby bottles are safe.

In a recent statement, the JPMA said the federal panel’s report on BPA “reaffirms the safety of plastic baby bottles.”

With all due respect to the fine folks at the JPMA, we’re not sure they were reading the same report we did. If they did, they would note this sentence: “The Expert Panel expressed SOME CONCERN that exposure to BPA causes neural and behavioral effects (emphasis added).”

Click here to read it:

http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/draftBPA_MtgSumm080807.pdf

What part of “some concern” did the JPMA miss?

We realize you can argue that the panel didn’t call for the ban of products with BPA. But, that’s NOT what the panel was asked to do. It will now take years of debate among scientists, researchers and politicians as to the best course to take with BPA.

The JPMA does a good job at representing the manufacturers of baby products and lobbying the government on their behalf. But we would hardly call them unbiased experts on this subject. In fact, Avent (the U.S. largest seller of polycarbonate baby bottles) sits on the JPMA’s board of directors.

For the record, Avent told us they believe their bottles are safe and pose no heath threat to babies.

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Q. Which bottles should we NOT use? Which ones are BPA-free?

Polycarbonate baby bottles make up about 90% of the bottle market. The most common polycarbonate bottle are Avent’s Natural Feeding Bottle and Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow. But other major baby product companies like Playtex and Gerber also make polycarbonate bottles.

Click here to see pictures of polycarbonate bottles:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/BPAbottles.html

Here are the alternatives that are BPA-free:

• Use glass bottles. Obviously, there is a risk of injury to baby or mom if the bottle is dropped, so glass isn’t a perfect alternative.

• Use bottles made of opaque plastic. These bottles (made of polyethylene or polypropylene) do not contain BPA.

• Consider a BPA-free plastic bottle. Born Free makes a BPA-free clear plastic bottle (Newbornfree.com) sold at Whole Foods. But these cost about $10 each, twice the price of Avent bottles.

• Use a drop-in system. For example the Playtex Drop-in System is BPA free (that is, the bottle liners do not contain BPA). Avent’s Tempo liners are another example.

We have pictures of these on our web page here:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/BPAFREEbottles.html

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Q. Is there a way to tell if a bottle has BPA?

A. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy. Here’s a general guide:

BAD:
• Bottles that have a #7 on their recycling label most likely are made of polycarbonate (and contain BPA).

GOOD:
• Bottles that have a #2, #4 , #5 are made of polyethylene or polypropylene—these do NOT have BPA.

We call on the government to require disclosure of which bottles have BPA, so consumers can make an informed choice.

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Q. What about sippy cups? Breast pump collection bottles?

A. Basically, the same advice applies: avoid those made of polycarbonate plastic. Sippy cups made of opaque plastic are fine. Again, check the bottom of the cup for its recycling number (#7 should be avoided). For breast pump collection bottles, consider BPA-free bottles (such as those from Medela).

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Q. I just bought $50 worth of Avent bottles. Are you saying I should throw them out?

A. Yes. We know this in an inconvenience—but if you think about it, buying replacement bottles would run only $50 to $100. When it comes to safety, we think this is a worthwhile investment.

In the last printing of Baby Bargains, we realize that we recommended Avent and Dr. Brown’s polycarbonate bottles and said that polycarbonate bottles were safe. This was written before the release of the latest BPA study and federal panel report last week.

We have changed our recommendation on this subject based on new scientific evidence and the results of the federal panel discussed earlier. We will be revising our book in a new printing later this year to reflect this advice. We realize this is of little comfort to a reader who just bought $50 worth of Avent bottles and can’t return them—but we owe it to all readers to get the best and accurate advice out there as soon as it is available.

(Note: the advice in this update differs slightly from what we previous wrote in Baby 411 3rd edition. In that book, we said parents could still use polycarbonate bottles if they limited washings/heated drying, etc. Given the latest scientific evidence, we will revise that book to reflect the above advice to STOP using these bottles altogether.)

We will continue to blog about this subject. Check out our blogs here:

http://baby411.typepad.com/babybargains/
http://baby411.typepad.com/baby_411_blog/

Recalled Toys

Great post about the latest big recall of toys. Did you succumb to the marketers?

Wanted: Portable GPS

Not sure if the old one we had even works but I'm lookin' for a new portable GPS for MSO. Since the old one is also outdated and he's been travelin' a lot lately (leaving me stranded to take care of our children), thought I'd look to get him (and me) one. Didn't have a chance to peruse the great vast Internet for reviews or anything but anyone got suggestions/recommendations on what brand and/or model are good ones? Garmin? Magellan? Anyone? Anyone?

Whole Foods Market To Open

It was sad for some to see the closing of Star Market at Kahala Mall, but time marches on and we'll see the opening of Whole Foods Market at that vacant location. I'm interested to see what Whole Foods has to offer, partly because I always see famous people shopping there while perusing the entertainment news. LOL

I hope the statement that says they have "a reputation for supporting local farmers" is true. On the other hand, they will give the "smaller natural foods stores" here some competition. Those smaller natural foods stores better work on their customer service if they want to maintain their market share (from me).

Maybe Down To Earth

Made my way to the Pearlridge Down To Earth store yesterday and as soon as I walked into the door I could just smell the healthiness. Or maybe it was all that aromatherapy crap by the door. It's a rather small store with rather small and short aisles. One small annoyance is that it felt as though I was constantly moving out of the way for their employees who were in numbers. Everywhere I turned there was an employee. Whether restocking, helping a customer, or just standing there, one was unfortunately where I wanted to be.

Another small annoyance was that one of the employees asked me if I needed help looking for something. I politely informed him that I didn't need help and that I was just looking. His reply of "Okaay." rubbed me the wrong way as it implied that I should be asking for his help and that I was missing out on his grandiose, exceptional knowledge of the health and beauty products we were surrounded by. Whatever.

Then, I finally head to the cashier with my basket full of organic and no-meat products only to be rung up by a multitasking employee, eating chips from a container right next to the register (Yuck, touching dirty $$$!), answering every call that comes in and transferring those calls, and looking closely at the products to see where the barcodes are in order to ring them up thus taking longer. (Maybe he's new or maybe he just can't remember where barcodes are on the products that he constantly rings up.)

Oh, and to finish off the transaction, he doesn't even hand me my receipt. It's left on the counter for me to pick up myself! Guess I should be appreciative that he wished me a nice evening. Not!

I just left there feeling like what the hell just happened. I also thought of another store that I could go to for the type of products that they sell and I came across a possible meaty alternative to Down To Earth. We'll see.

Ala Moana Petland To Close

Haven't gone there much but this must bring back some memories for some...

MSO's Weakness For Shopping

Whenever we go shopping MSO will most likely utter some words that include tired or exhausted. And that's (usually) not because he didn't get a good night's sleep or because he showed off all his mad skills at basketball. It's because he's mentally tired and/or exhausted from shopping. And this kind of shopping does not take place at manly-man stores such as Lowe's, City Mill, Napa, Sears...You know what I mean.

So it seemed almost fitting that we'd stumble upon the "How to Survive Shopping with Your Wife" by Steve Wilson in the March/April 2007 Ala Moana Shopping Magazine. (I'm one of those that actually takes this magazine and looks at all the pictures of things that I could never buy, and other whatnot in there.) And MSO totally agreed with the pre-shopping prep with the bottled water and energy bars. =S

Husbands, here are your survival tips:

PRE-SHOPPING PREP

* Make like you'll be running a marathon and pack bottled water, energy bars and trail mix. Have you stretched your quads?

* Wear comfy clothes, but don't slob it up too much. Dressing down may inspire her to give you a sneak-attack makeover.

* Arm yourself with distractions: cell phone with games, a book or even office paperwork.

* Before the trip, tell her about at least three items you "desperately need" that she'll have no interest in helping you find. This way, you'll have an airtight excuse to slip away when it's time for her to visit the hosiery section.

SHOPPING SURVIVAL

* Stay on the lookout for any chair, bench or fountain that looks like it could hold your tush when you just can't stand up any longer. Be on constant watch for stores that sell DVDs and gadgets. She'll understand if you'd prefer to cut out for a few minutes rather than join in the quest for "the perfect black top."

* Learn the lingo. "Yes, that's cute," and "No, it doesn't make you look fat," just don't cut it anymore. Watch a couple of makeover shows to bone up on fashion terms. For example, "You have vivid coloring, so you should stick to navy, deep brown, blue, purple and charcoal gray."

* Live it up at the Makai Market Food Court; you've earned that extra helping of ice cream.

SNEAKY METHODS

* Calls to her friends for moral support before making a purchase can drag out the day indefinitely. To save yourself hours of thumb twiddling, hide her phone, or at least drain the batteries.

* "Forget" to empty the trunk (Lawn equipment? Dog crate?) so there's less room for shopping bags. But always remember to carry her bags for her - after all, it's the gentlemanly thing to do.

Stamp Rate Hike

Looks like postal prices are going up again. The postage rates last went up in January 2006. There's also recommendation for a new "forever" stamp that would sell for the first-class rate and remain valid even if the rates go up in the future, thereby eliminating the need to buy small 2-cent type of stamps.

For example, if the 41-cent rate takes effect, forever stamps would sell for 41 cents. If rates later climbed to 45 cents or more, the price of the forever stamp would also go up at the counter or machine, but those purchased before the change would still be valid to mail a letter.

Under the proposal, sending a 2-ounce letter would actually decrease from 63 cents to 58 cents but mailing "odd-shaped" items may result in a 17-cent surcharge as they cannot be processed using letter-sorting machines.

The matter now goes back to the board of governors of the Postal Service, which can accept the recommendations or ask for reconsideration. If accepted, the new rates could take effect as soon as May.

Interesting example given:

Each penny increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline costs the Postal Service $8 million, and it cannot simply add a fuel surcharge to its rates.

What's Going On At...

The Town Center of Mililani? More parking?































Alright, based on further investigation, read that The Bus is building a transit center along Mehe'ula Parkway and they are loaning a small portion of their parking lot while the construction is underway. Will post anyway for non-Mililanians or even Mililanians.