Three States Request Volunteer Ban of BPA in Baby Products

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

14 Oct 2008 05:17 PM

You gotta love Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware. In regard to protecting mothers and children, they have been doing a lot of progressive things, such as policies and laws on breast-feeding, maternity leave and more. And now, here they are again taking a proactive stance against the use of the chemical bisphenol A or BPA. This chemical has been linked to all sorts of health conditions in studies, from abnormal growth to heart disease. The Food & Drug Adminstration (FDA) has declared the chemical to be safe in these products, although they don't seem confident in their conclusions. Critics say that the FDA is taking the cowards way out and doubt that their recommendation of the BPA products being safe is trustworthy.

The Assocated Press (AP) is reporting that attorney generals in Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware, frustrated by the FDA's statements about BPA, have sent out letters to 11 different companies that manufacture baby bottles and baby formula containers. The letters ask that the companies no longer use BPA in these products because it is potentially harmful to infants.

It is known that more than 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies, and babies are thought to be especially vulnerable, although there have been studies linking high exposure in adults to serious diseases.

The letters went out to the following companies, some of which already make versions of their products that are free from BPA: Avent America Inc., Disney First Years, Gerber, Handicraft Co., Playtex Products Inc. and Evenflo Co., and formula makers Abbott, Mead Johnson, PBM Products, Nature's One and Wyeth.

BPA can be found almost everywhere, from your baby's shampoo bottles to those plastic baby food containers, such as the ones made by Gerber. To reduce your family's exposure to the chemical, consider breast-feeding, switch from plastic products to glass for food freezing, storage and heating, avoid using plastics that contain the recycling number 7 for food, avoid canned food that is packaged with plastic liners and seek out baby bottles that are manufactured without BPA, such as Medela and Dr. Brown's.

Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.

Removing BPA from Your Home

Minimizing Your Baby's Exposure to BPA

BPA is Safe Says FDA

How Safe is Our Baby Formula?

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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