Six Baby Bottle Manufacturers Quietly Agree to Remove Bisphenol-A (BPA) from Baby Bottles

Monday, March 09, 2009 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: BPA, Baby Bottles, health news

(NaturalNews) After years of insisting Bisphenol-A (BPA) posed no threat to the health of babies, six larger manufacturers of baby bottles have announced they will stop shipping new baby bottles made with the chemical. No existing baby bottles are being recalled, however. Nor are they being taken off the shelves of retailers. The baby bottles being purchased and used by babies right now still contain BPA, a hormone disruptor chemical linked to serious health problems like breast cancer and reproductive abnormalities.

As the Washington Post reports (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content...), most of the six manufacturers only agreed to stop using BPA in their baby bottles after being contacted by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who asked (demanded?) the companies stop using the controversial chemical. No doubt these companies saw the writing on the wall and realized that if they didn't drop the chemical now, they could be facing a wave of class action lawsuits from angry mothers (and their mutant babies) in the years ahead.

The six companies that have agreed to stop using BPA in baby bottles sold in the U.S. are:

• Gerber
• Avent America, Inc
• Evenflo Co.
• Disney First Years
• Dr. Brown
• Playtex Products, Inc.

The BornFree company, of course, has been selling BPA-free baby bottles for years: www.NewBornFree.com

It's important to note here that these companies are all removing a chemical that they claim is perfectly safe. In other words, they're essentially saying, "It's not bad for ya, but we're takin' it out anyway." No doubt they have realized that admitting BPA is dangerous would unleash a flood of lawsuits. It's safer to just quietly take it out now, before there's any talk of lawsuits about mutant children growing adult breasts at age seven or other similar side effects.

The real health damage caused by BPA, after all, will take many years to become evident. And by that time, most people will have forgotten that baby bottle companies once used this chemical in their products.

Nicotine isn't addictive, the Earth is flat, and BPA is harmless...

There's still a culture of denial about BPA in the plastics industry, however. The American Chemistry Council, an industry group representing the business interests of chemical companies, insists that BPA is perfectly safe for infants and babies, even when the plastic bottles contain unregulated levels of BPA. In their view, the baby bottle manufacturers should have left the BPA in the plastic!

Of course, the ACC has hardly met a chemical it didn't like; much like the AMA has hardly met a pharmaceutical it didn't like, either.

Scoring an "F" on the humanity scoreboard, baby bottle manufacturer Philips Avent decided to stop selling BPA bottles to U.S. consumers, but continues to ship baby bottles made with BPA to other countries. Babies born in third world countries, it seems, must have a higher tolerance to toxic chemicals than American babies. Then again, U.S. corporations have always dumped chemicals onto other nations after they were banned or regulated in America (Big Tobacco, pesticide manufacturers, drug companies, etc.).

Baby bottles are just the beginning

Even though BPA is now disappearing from baby bottles, remember this: There's BPA in canned food. It's contained in the thin plastic liner inside cans of soup, fruits, vegetables, legumes and even meats. Most consumers have no idea that canned food contains Bisphenol-A, so it's important to share the word about this and encourage friends and family to avoid canned foods entirely.

Canned food isn't exactly nutritious food in the first place. It's all dead, heat-treated food that lacks the taste and nutrients of the fresh food it laughingly claims to deliver. If you must eat "canned" food, buy it in glass jars, which contain no BPA.

BPA is also found in virtually all plastic food packaging. So whether you're buying a lunch snack box packaged in plastic, or a plastic bag full of soup, you're getting exposed to some level of BPA.

One more chemical down, hundreds more to go

So now the battle against BPA appears to be headed towards a lasting victory. In time, entire nations will likely ban the chemical from food packaging altogether. But what about all the other toxic chemicals found in foods?

When will MSG be banned? Or yeast extract which contains MSG but is used in so-called "natural" or vegetarian foods?

Or how about sodium nitrite? Aspartame? Artificial food colors? When will these dangerous chemicals be banned from foods eaten by infants and children? How about mercury in children's dental fillings?

Make no mistake: Modern human civilization remains in its infancy on the issue of chemical safety. It has just barely emerged from the laughable era of "better living through chemistry" and is just now discovering the toxic effects of hundreds of different synthetic chemicals once thought to be harmless.

It will no doubt take many decades -- and perhaps even a century -- before the most dangerous chemicals are identified and banned in nations around the world. In the mean time, there's one simple thing you can do to protect yourself from virtually all such chemicals: Don't buy or consume processed foods or beverages, period!

Eating fresh food that you prepare yourself while avoiding all processed food just happens to avoid hundreds of toxic synthetic chemicals while enhancing and protecting your health at the same time. Buy fresh, buy organic and avoid anything made by man.

And please, folks, stop using all those toxic personal care products and cosmetic products, too. They can be even more dangerous than BPA.

Authors' Quotes on BPA and Baby Bottles

Below, you'll find selected quotes from noted authors on the subject of BPA. Feel free to quote these in your own work provided you give proper credit to both the original author quoted here and this NaturalNews page.

BPA shows up in the bloodstream of 95 percent of Americans. BPA is a common compound found in plastic. There may be some in your water bottle or jug. It is also in the plastic lining of cans of soft drinks and beer. Canned foods, food storage containers, pacifiers, baby teethers, and dental sealants may contain BPA. The plastic industry will tell you that small amounts of BPA are nothing to worry about. A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, however, suggests that when mice are exposed to low levels of BPA for several days, they develop insulin resistance.
- Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

Plastics made from polycarbonate resin can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), a potent hormone disruptor. BPA, a chemical found in epoxy resin and polycarbonate plastics, may impair the reproductive organs and have adverse effects on tumors, breast tissue development, and prostate development by reducing sperm count. BPA can leach into water bottles through normal wear and tear and exposure to heat and cleaning agents. This includes leaving your plastic water bottle in your car during errands, in your backpack during hikes, and running it through your dishwasher or using harsh detergents.
- From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life by C. W. Randolph, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

A 2007 review of 700 studies involving BPA, published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, found that infants and fetuses were the most vulnerable to adverse effects from this toxic substance. An accompanying study in the same issue of the journal by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to levels of BPA consistent with normal human exposure. This finding may also implicate BPA as a cause of endometriosis and other reproductive tract disorders that occur in women later in life, decades after being exposed as fetuses and/or infants.
- From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life by C. W. Randolph, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

The estrogenic properties of bisphenol-A (BPA) was known as early as 1936, yet children now have their teeth coated with plastic containing BPA. The ADA denies any problem and goes on coating teeth. Food and drink cans are lined with it. Some plasfic baby bottles contain it and other plasticizers. In April 1999, Consumer Reports Special Report advised parents to dispose of soft vinyl teethers and toys that infants sometimes suck or chew, and all clear, shiny plastic baby bottles, unless the manufacturer tells you they're not made of polycarbonate, which leaches BPA.
- Fundamentals of Naturopathic Endocrinology by Michael Friedman, ND
- Available on Amazon.com

A report on Bisphenol A (BPA, a constituent of plastic) from the society of the plastics industry showed that the average can gives off six to seven micrograms of bisphenol A into the food. BPA can leach from plastic when subjected to high temperatures. The degree of leaching depends on how the can is treated (not all are sterilized at high heat, called autoclaving) and what's inside the can. When I called numerous cola companies to find out if they had tested for BPA leakage, I got the royal runaround and never received any information.
- Hormone Deception by D. Lindsey Berkson
- Available on Amazon.com

The authors of the above study on BPA and breast cancer risk in rats also linked the reported incidence of endocrine-dependent human cancers to even the minimal levels of estrogen-like chemicals, particularly BPA, to which pregnant women are exposed. An August 2, 2007, consensus statement by several dozen scientists warned that BPA, even at very low exposure levels, is probably responsible for many human reproductive disorders.
- Hormone Deception by D. Lindsey Berkson
- Available on Amazon.com

The statement, published online by the journal Reproductive Toxicology, was accompanied by a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health finding uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to BPA. The researchers indicated that such damage is a possible predictor of reproductive diseases in women, including fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers. Earlier studies linked low dose BPA to female reproductive-tract disorders, as well as early-stage prostate and breast cancer, as well as decreased sperm counts in animals.
- Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation: Unleash The Natural Healing Power That Lies Dormant Within You by Andreas Moritz
- Available on Amazon.com

A 2003 study conducted by the University of Missouri published in the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, found that detectable levels of BPA leached into liquids at room temperature. This means just having your plastic water bottle sitting on your desk can be potentially harmful. The best thing to do is to avoid plastic altogether. (Side note: Baby bottles made from polycarbonate plastics have quietly disappeared from the market despite industry assurances that polycarbonate plastics are safe.)
- From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life by C. W. Randolph, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

In 2004, one researcher counted up all of the studies done to date on just BPA. Of 104 studies done by independent researchers, 94 found adverse effects. None of 11 studies conducted by the chemical industry's researchers on BPA identified adverse effects. In the wake of the mounting data that endocrine disruptors wreak havoc on the human immune system, in 2005 the National Institutes of Health stated that investigations of exposures to pesticides and estrogenic compounds as triggers of autoimmune disease -- about which we still know far too little -- are now of "considerable research interest."
- The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
- Available on Amazon.com

The latest study showed that women with a history of miscarriages were found to have higher levels of BPA in their bodies. The women who had miscarriages were found to have BPA levels on average about three times higher than women who had successfully given birth, according to an online food industry Web site. The scientists concluded that while a high level of bisphenol-A did not in itself predict subsequent miscarriage, exposure to the chemical is associated with recurrent miscarriage.
- Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown by David Steinman
- Available on Amazon.com

BPA is commonplace -- found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda, and other frequendy eaten canned goods. It migrates from the can or plastic into the contents, which are then ingested. What's most troubling about the recent reports of BPAs prevalence, which emerged in 2007 and was featured prominently in the media, is that it remains entirely without safety standards. It is allowed in unlimited amounts in consumer products, drinking water, and food, the top exposure source for most people.
- The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps by Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith
- Available on Amazon.com

BPA is at unsafe levels in one of every ten servings of canned foods (11 percent) and one of every three cans of infant formula (33 percent). BPA, found in everything from baby bottles and water cooler jugs to bicycle helmets, CDs, and the inside lining of tin cans, is associated with a number of health problems and diseases that are on the rise in the United States population, including breast and prostate cancers and infertility.
- The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps by Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith
- Available on Amazon.com

The results reinforce other data showing that new polycarbonate bottles leach small amounts of BPA, which in animal tests has been shown to cause "abnormalities in the mammary and prostate glands and the female eggs of laboratory animals" as well as accelerating puberty and adding to weight gain. What's even scarier: Every year, we produce 6 billion pounds of BPA, which is also found in some hard plastic water coolers, water bottles, microwave-safe dishes, even inside the linings of tin cans. We're exposed to it around the clock.
- Growing Up Green: Baby and Child Care: Volume 2 in the Bestselling Green This! Series (Green This!) by Deirdre Imus
- Available on Amazon.com

In light of these dangers from BPA exposure, in early 2008 the Canadian government's Health Canada declared BPA to be a toxic chemical.
None of these developments should come as any surprise to us, since the hormonal effects of certain synthetic chemicals, particularly DDT, on wildlife have been well-recognized since the 1950s, and were documented in Rachel Carson's classic 1962 book, Silent Spring. Carson's book described how predatory birds at the top of the food chain were producing thin-shelled and non-viable eggs due to the estrogen-like effects of DDT.
- Growing Up Green: Baby and Child Care: Volume 2 in the Bestselling Green This! Series (Green This!) by Deirdre Imus
- Available on Amazon.com

BPA, which is also used in baby bottles and in the resins that line food cans, has been discovered by the CDC in 95 percent of human urine samples tested and has been detected in newborn umbilical cord blood the world over. In 1988, the EPA set a daily safe limit for humans of 0.05 milligrams of BPA per kilogram of body weight. Since then, investigative techniques for determining cell dysfunction in the lab have dramatically improved, allowing researchers to look at many chemicals' subtler effects.
- The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
- Available on Amazon.com

The study evaluated release of Bisphenol-A and Bisphenol-A dimethacrylate from sealants into the saliva. The study did demonstrate release of these components from newly placed unfilled sealants, which are widely used to cover the grooves on chewing surfaces of back teeth as a decay prevention measure.
- Never Be Sick Again: Health is a Choice, Learn How to Choose It by Raymond Francis
- Available on Amazon.com

In June 2005, Bisphenol-A was linked to recurrent miscarriages among young women. Scientists in Japan said a small sample study published in Human Reproduction indicated a link between recurrent miscarriages and Bisphenol-A Such studies could potentially expose the companies or their clients to lawsuits from consumers who may have been harmed by the chemicals. The latest study showed that women with a history of miscarriages were found to have higher levels of BPA in their bodies.
- Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown by David Steinman
- Available on Amazon.com

Consumer Reports states that polycarbonate leaches a chemical called Bisphenol-A, which "has produced physiological effects similar to those produced by estrogen. During such 'endocrine disruption,' chemicals interfere with or mimic the action of hormones, possibly upsetting normal development. Based on testing with an intact bottle, we calculate that a typical baby who drank formula sterilized by heating in a bottle would be exposed to a Bisphenol-A dose of about 4 percent of an amount that has adversely affected test animals.
- The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children by Carol Simontacchi
- Available on Amazon.com

In the 1970s, researchers at Stanford University found that an estrogenic chemical, Bisphenol-A, could leach out of polycarbonate bottles. The ability of Bisphenol-A to produce estrogenic effects was discovered when some men in the plastics industry developed prominent breasts after inhaling the chemical in dust. No one has yet figured out exactly how much of this chemical actually seeps into foods and beverages or whether it causes breast cancer in humans when ingested.
- Permanent Remissions by Robert Hass, M.S.
- Available on Amazon.com

Polycarbonate can release its primary building block, Bisphenol A, another suspected hormone disruptor, into liquids and foods. In 1998, the Japanese government ordered manufacturers there to recall and destroy polycarbonate tableware meant for use by children because it contained excessive amounts of Bisphenol A.
- Super Health 7 Golden Keys to Unlock Lifelong Vitality by KC Craichy
- Available on Amazon.com

Sources for this story include:

• Baby Bottle Makers to Stop Selling Bottles with BPA Chemical
- MSNBC

• NY county lawmakers vote to ban BPA baby bottles
- Associated Press