BPA in Baby Bottles Becoming a Thing of the Past

Mothers, there is now one thing less you have to worry about when you are looking for the best bottle for your baby: no BPA in the bottles. Because of the growing public and legal pressure that all began in San Francisco, six of the major baby bottle manufacturers have agreed to stop selling the hard-plastic baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, an industrial chemical that is suspected of harming human development.

The makers of many baby-care products such as Playtex Products Inc., Evenflo Co., Dr. Brown, Gerber, and Disney First Years, say that they will no longer market the shatter-proof polycarbonate baby bottles and some of the other baby products in the United States.

Polycarbonate is made from bisphenol A and is widely used in hundreds of commercial applications such as the inside lining of metal drink and food containers, polyvinyl chloride plastics, and epoxy resins.

Richard Blumenthal the Attorney General of Connecticut, in announcing the decisions of the companies Thursday, said that he and the attorney generals from New Jersey and Delaware had written to these companies within the last year, urging them to stop using the chemical, which can mimic the hormonal activity of estrogen and can also alter the normal workings of our genes.

Health official are cautious however about the possible ill effects of the chemical. They believe that infants and children are at the greatest risk because of their quickly developing bodies and their sensitive systems.

Shannon Jenest, who is a spokeswoman for Avent, which is owned by the Phillips Group, said that its polycarbonate products have met the governmental guidelines, including those that were set by the U.S. Food an Drug Administration, which has not as of yet banned bisphenol A.

Philips made the decision to stop shipping the polycarbonate baby bottles to the retailers in the Unites States, she stated, because the company values its great relationship with it customers and there is a lot of confusion right now about the use of bisphenol A in infant feeding products.  However, she also said that the company will continue to sell the polycarbonate baby bottles everywhere else in the world.

Because of all of the pressure from the consumer rights groups and the move toward toxic-free products, some of the companies have been making alternatives to bisphenol A-free bottles, including old-fashioned glass baby bottles. Nalgene, who is a leader in the sales of portable drinking water bottles, discontinued its polycarbonate lines last year.

Last year, the Democratic Senator Dianne Feistein of California was among the many authors of the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act, which banned plastic softeners, also known as phthalates, from all children’s products. A bill to expand this law is expected to be introduced to Congress within this year to restrict bisphenol A in all children’s products.

In 2006, San Francisco became the first city to ban bisphenol A in all children’s products but backed off of the ordinance after toymakers, chemical manufacturers, and a local retailer Citikids Baby News, challenged the ban in court. San Francisco supervisors said at the time that the law difficult to enforce without the help of similar federal and state laws. That same year, The Chronicle sent children’s products for tests that found the chemical bisphenol A in the covers of the waterproof children’s books, a plastic pony, a baby rattle, the face of a baby doll and some plastic baby bottles.

Last week, the state Senator Fran Pavley, D-Los Angeles, introduced a bill limiting the chemical in baby-care products, including its use in the lining of cans for infant formula.  Pavley said, “Eliminating bisphenol A from baby bottles is an important first step. I hope makers of formula cans and other baby feeding containers follow suit and acknowledge the inherent dangers of (the chemical) to the developing bodies of young children, who now ingest it on a daily basis when it leaches into their food and drink.”

The industry has argued that the levels of bisphenol A in human were far to low to cause damage. Industry studies found that the chemical caused no damage to laboratory humans or animals, but more than 150 government and academic-sponsored studies have found that a series of development problems can occur even at low exposures.

Studies that were conducted with lab animals indicate that even small amounts of bisphenol A can damage the brain and reproductive systems, alter the prostate and mammary glands, and also lead to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.