Baby bottles containing the controversial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) have recently been banned in the EU because of continuing questions about BPA's safety.
Major suppliers of baby bottles here announced in July 2010 they would voluntarily phase out polycarbonate baby bottles which contain BPA. "BPA-free" bottles are now more readily available. But polycarbonate bottles can still be found on shop shelves – in some cases with no plastic identification code. Polycarbonate is usually identified by the number 7 with the letters "PC" below.
Tommee Tippee's Future All Blacks in Training bottle was one of three Tommee Tippee polycarbonate bottles we found that didn't have a plastic identification code. Tommee Tippee announced last year that all its products would be BPA-free by January 2011.The company told us the bottles we bought were old stock that had yet to clear retail stores. It said all new products coming into the country were BPA-free.
German-brand NUK also has what appears to be old polycarbonate stock in circulation. The company's representative said all its production has been either polypropylene or glass for over a year and the bottles we bought were older.
Last year, the US National Toxicology Program and the Food and Drug Administration stated they had "some concern" about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behaviour and prostate gland of foetuses, infants, and young children.
The American Medical Association recently adopted a policy recognising BPA as an endocrine-disrupting agent and supporting a ban on baby bottles and infant-feeding cups that contain the chemical.
Our view
- We’ve previously called for a temporary ban here on baby bottles, feeding cups and baby-food packaging containing BPA until more is known about the safety risk this chemical poses. Glass, polyethylene and polypropylene are alternatives to polycarbonate.
More from consumer.org.nz
- Concern over chemicals in plastic - May 2010
- Voluntary phase-out of BPA bottles - July 2010
- BPA still not OK - October 2010
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After the recent news items I decided to call a couple of makers of canned Tuna.
Heinz said that any of their cans with a white lining contain BPA. Others with a white lining do not.
Sealord I'm still trying to get answers out of. So far I'm the stage where I know they spray one of 2 chemicals on their cans depending on the size: "aluminised epoxy phenolic" and
"organosol lacquer".
Now ... do those contain BPA? The quest continues ...
Cheers,
Nick.
So I know it is in some baby bottles, but I didn't know it was in baby-food packaging. Does anyone know which food packaging it is in?