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Baltimore Food Examiner
Showing entries for Category: NTP
Showing entries for Category: NTP
Bogus Bottles
 I don't want to get all up in the baby bottle controversy. My own babies (now 19 month-olds) are supposed to be off the bottle by now, right? But I'm gonna get up in it anyway, just in case you don't know about it, just in case you're interested. BPA (bisphenol A) is the type of plastic compound that is currently used to make the many baby bottles sold in the U.S. I'm not going to write down the names of the brands of bottles that are made of BPA since it only takes a sec to search for info online to find out yourself. I just want to make sure I say my peace on the subject.A good friend of mine who is a doctor/scientist mentioned the use of this plastic a few years back, when I was pregnant with my twin daughters. She had been strongly advised by scientist colleagues to tell her friends with children about the emerging information regarding this kind of plastic because of its widespread use and apparent instability. I thanked her for the tip and sort of filed it in the back of my mind. I was in the throes of getting my head around the impossibility of having twin infants and there was already so much to worry about on so many levels that the bottle thing seemed unimportant at the time. Pile it on, I thought. Had the babies, gave them formula and breast milk delivered through the clear, hard plastic bottles, done and done. I also "sterilized" these bottles with a contraption sold for such a use, putting the bottles and a little water in the microwave, super-heating the water and steaming the bottles into sterilized oblivion. Also, during cold, endless nights, I put said bottles in bottle warmers to warm formula for hourly feedings. Heating plastics should have tipped me off as something to get freaked out by, but my mind wasn't thinking clearly at that point -- I assumed it was safe. Why offer products for infants that could be potentially harmful? Wouldn't you think the chemical community, U.S. government and every other entity could get on board and thoroughly research this stuff? LITTLE BABIES GET THEIR FOOD FROM THESE BOTTLES!!! Parents want to do the best for their children and buy seemingly innocuous bottles, sold everywhere, because it is unconscionable that anyone with an inkling about dangerous baby products would sell such things. Eventually, about six months ago, I threw out my BPA bottles and got supposedly safe plastic replacement bottles. Oh, I'm steaming mad again. Little snippets of discussion re: these bottles and BPA have shown up in the media over the past few years, and always bottle and chemical companies say the plastic is stable and harmless and their product is just fine. Well, it is on the table for discussion again, isn't it? Hell, Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us are phasing out bottles made from BPA. That seems like a mainstream acceptance of possible danger to me. The National Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (a part of the Department of Health and Human Services), has published a comprehensive brief (you can read it by downloading the pdf document from the NTP site) discussing the widespread use of and possible health implications of BPA in the human population. Below is an excerpt from the conclusions section in the report: "...there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures. The NTP also has some concern for bisphenol A exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females." WOW. As a parent one of my primary functions is feeding my children in as safe a way as possible, from the food I give them to the containers and cookware I store and prepare their food in. This quiet phasing out of bisphenol A baby bottles is someone's hope that nobody will notice what is going on. Well, I am officially noticing. ***Tuesday April 29th on the Diane Rehm show on NPR the topic is BPA exposure and human health concerns. You can listen live or hear the archived show on the NPR website. |
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Juliette Goodwin
Juliette Goodwin's take on food knows no bounds. From the food on your dinner plate to the grub in your dog's bowl, Juliette offers an enlightening and informative view on all things edible.
Juliette Goodwin's take on food knows no bounds. From the food on your dinner plate to the grub in your dog's bowl, Juliette offers an enlightening and informative view on all things edible.
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