What is BPA? – it is a controversial chemical called Bisphenol-A
(BPA).
This chemical has been removed from baby bottles in the US, but the UK manufacturers have yet to stop using it.
Despite six US manufacturers responding to consumer demand by removing BPA from their bottles, the UK will continue selling bottles containing BPA, a decision which has prompted anger among campaigners.
Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, said: “It’s time the companies in the UK followed suit with what the companies in America and Canada are doing. “We shouldn’t have bottles on the market that leach BPA. Parents would like to choose not have BPA in their babies’ feeds and they don’t find that choice easy right now.”
The Food Standards Agency insists BPA in UK plastic products is “well below the levels considered harmful”. The chemical is widely used in plastic manufacture and is commonly found in food and drink containers and there has been growing concern about the possible effects of it leaching into babies’ feed when bottles are heated.
The advice for parents
- is not to pour boiling liquid directly into bottles,
- not to microwave them or
- use scratched or worn ones.
The ban in the US came about come amid fears about the possible side effects of Bisphenol A. Research carried out at Exeter University has found that adults with high levels of BPA in their system were more prone to heart disease and diabetes Dr Iain Lang, who led the study, said: “There is not enough to provide us with the evidence to say there is definitely a link, there is definitely something going on. “But in addition to some of the previous work that has been done looking at younger children and looking at animals this does increase the likelihood that there are problems associated with BPA.
Major UK retailers of baby bottles do stock BPA-free alternatives and one leading manufacturer, NUK, has bowed to pressure and removed BPA from all of its products.
However, the chemical industry insists BPA is one of the most extensively-tested chemicals and that new EU legislation will ensure its safety. Steve Elliot, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association, said: “There’s been lots of work done, whether it’s been by the Food and Drug Administration in the States, whether it’s by the Food Standards Authority at a European level or the FSA in the UK. “Lots of data, lots of research, lots of sampling and none of those tests suggest that there is a risk to human health.”
The National Childbirth Trust is asking the UK to follow the USA lead in plastic baby feeding bottles. They are asking companies selling baby bottles in the UK to follow the USA lead and move to producing baby bottles using non bisphenol A (BPA) plastics. The chemical BPA is controversial and currently used in many baby bottles sold in the UK.
There is evidence to suggest that the chemical can interfere with healthy growth and body functions and mimics the effect of the hormone oestrogen in the body. Babies are particularly vulnerable to hormone mimicking effects as they grow rapidly in the early months and years.
It has been reported that Avent, Disney First Years, Gerber, Dr. Brown, Playtex and Evenflow voluntarily stopped manufacturing BPA baby bottles for sale within the USA.
25th March 2009
