Bisphenol A, also know simply as BPA, is used in the production of the plastic known as polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is commonly used for food and drink containers including baby bottles and sippy cups. It falls under the plastic ID code "7".
Plastic ID code "7" is for other plastics not covered by code 1 to 6. It includes polycarbonate. Containers manufactured using a blend of plastics will also have the ID code "7".Polyvinyl chloride or PVC can also contain BPA and is commonly used in toys. PVC plastics have the plastic ID code "3". It is another plastic that should be avoided.
PVC have the ID code "3". Aside from BPA, it can also contain diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) which may reduce the penis size of developing baby boys. Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) is also a known carcinogen.There has been many studies reporting BPA to be harmful to animals even in levels below the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) maximum safe dose of 50 ug/kg/day. Some reports say it can lead to behavioral changes in babies or contribute to early onset of puberty in girls. It is reported to mimic female sex hormones. Some say it has carcinogenic effects.
Eventhough most government food safety bodies consider the level of exposure to BPA from drinking bottles safe, Canada has declared Bisphenol A a hazardous substance and wants to restrict it. A number of retail stores have also announced to stop offering food/milk containers, drinking bottles, baby bottles and pacifiers containing BPA. Manufacturers have also announced to either stop using it or offer alternative products that are BPA-free. Popular brands like Avent, BornFree, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Medela, Munchkin, Nuby and Pigeon to name a few now offer BPA-free baby bottles.
So, there are lots of reports saying BPA is bad while most government food safety bodies say it poses no risk. However, it is not so long ago that they also said there's no evidence linking cigarette smoking to cancer. Are you willing to gamble with your baby's health? I'm not. I'll go for BPA-free sippy cups for my baby and BPA-free baby bottles for my next baby. I'll try my best to minimize my family's exposure to polycarbonates and polyvinyl chloride.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
http://www.bisphenolafree.org
http://www.bisphenol-a.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride
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