plastics industry – Natural families and lifestyle

Posted on March 17, 2009April 5, 2009 by Trisha

No more BPA in food and beverage containers!

That’s what leaders from the House and Senate are proposing. The bill was introduced Friday and would establish a federal ban on the use of BPA in all food and beverage containers.

From the Washington Post:
The move came a day after Sunoco, the gas and chemical company, sent word to investors that it is now refusing to sell bisphenol A, known as BPA, to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than 3. The company told investors that it cannot be certain of the chemical compound’s safety. Last week, six baby-bottle manufacturers, including Playtex and Gerber, announced that they will stop using BPA in bottles.

I am glad one of the big oil companies is taking a stand like this. Very impressive since the sale of BPA is a lucrative market for them.

From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Scientists and environmentalists praised the move as an acknowledgment of the chemical’s danger, but some worried that more needs to be done to study how humans are exposed to the chemical.BPA is found lurking in many places including baby bottles, plastic containers (even some labeled microwave safe), food and beverage containers, eyeglasses, CDs, dental sealants and many other places.

“It may represent just the tip of a much larger iceberg,” said Pat Hunt, the professor from Washington State University whose work led to the discovery of the effects of BPA on animals more than 10 years ago.

“Recent work suggests that contaminated food and beverages alone aren’t sufficient to account for the levels reported in human blood. Thus, it’s clear that we need to know a lot more about how we are exposed to this chemical.”

BPA has been linked to behavioral problems, obesity, certain cancers, diabetes, miscarriage, low sperm counts, hyperactivity, heart disease, has been found to interfere with chemotherapy in breast cancer patients, and many other problems.

Why the FDA still considers BPA “safe” is beyond me. I mean other than they are in bed with the plastic industry folks. Hey, money talks. But its certainly infuriating as a parent knowing that hundreds of studies, another Federal Health agency and now even a BPA manufacturer all find there is enough evidence that this stuff does cause harm even in small amounts.

There are ways to avoid BPA in food and beverages. We do not use canned foods/beverages in our house, and I do not miss it or find it any harder to make dinner. I get fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. For soup, we make our own from scratch –it’s healthier and it tastes much better. If I really need canned something, which is usually just beans for taco night, I use Eden Organics whose cans are not lined with BPA (except tomatoes, which are too acidic). Even chicken and beef stock can be bought in a boxed form allowing you to avoid cans. Cream of whatever soups are the only other thing I use and I know there are recipes out there to make your own. For beverages, go for glass bottles (though the tops may be lined with BPA), or plastic (which is a whole other concern. We just gave up soft drinks all together a few years ago – there is no nutritional benefit to drinking it, it’s full of bad stuff and its not cheap.

See my lists of BPA free items for children and some for mom too.
BPA free bottles, sippy cups and food storage
BPA and phthalate free pacifiers
BPA and phthalate free teethers and rattles
BPA free dishes, utensils, snack containers and food storage

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Sources:
JSOnline
Washington Post

BPA investigation: To read the Journal Sentinel’s ongoing investigation “Chemical Fallout,” go to www jsonline.com/chemicalfallout. JSOnAir Meg Kissinger on BPA To see Meg Kissinger talk about the national attention the Journal Sentinel is getting for its research into bisphenol A, go to jsonline.com/jsonair.

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Trisha

Bottle makers to stop selling BPA containing baby bottles

It was bound to happen sooner than later – the six main baby bottle manufacturers have decided to stop selling polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA in the US. HOORAY!

The six manufacturers Avent, Dr. Browns, Evenflo, The First Years, Gerber and Playtex all already have BPA free bottles. It really is a no brainer move since large retailers including Target, Wal-Mart and Babies R Us vowed to stop selling baby bottles containing BPA at the end of 2008, and Canada banned the sale of polycarbonate baby bottles last year. So if there is no market or sales channel, then why bother? Either way, this is to be applauded. But sadly, these bottles will continue to be sold outside North America.

This is a great first step; however, there is still work to be done on this issue. BPA still lines the insides of canned foods, soft drink cans, lids of many jarred foods, dental sealants, etc. And of course the FDA still is trying to convince us BPA is safe even though 130 studies have linked BPA exposure to behavior problems, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes and several other disorders.

See how to avoid BPA.

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Posted on February 10, 2009February 10, 2009 by Trisha · 1 Comment

BPA may linger in body longer than we thought

New research shows that BPA may linger in the body much longer than we previously thought. Researches thought BPA was purged by the body in 24 hours, but that was based on limited research.

BPA is everywhere: in PVC pipe, in polycarbonate drink containers, in the plastic that lines food and soft-drink cans, and even in dental sealants. It’s also in our bodies. Virtually everyone has detectable levels of BPA in his or her body.

Now there’s evidence that BPA might be in our water as well as in our food, and that it lingers in our fat tissues. If confirmed — and the current findings are very preliminary — it could mean BPA is a bigger problem than thought.

University of Rochester researcher Richard Stahlhut, MD, MPH, analyzed data on 1,469 U.S. adults from the CDC’s huge 2003-2004 NHANES study. That study gave fasting people one-time BPA tests, and also collected extensive dietary data.

“After 10 to 15 hours of fasting, there shouldn’t be anybody with any detectable levels of BPA,” Stahlhut tells WebMD. “But it just hangs there like the London fog. You do see a subtle downward trend, but what you don’t see is it falling off the map. And by 24 hours it’s still there.”

And FastCompany pulled this quote from the study.
Not wishing to weigh the argument unscientifically, the research paper even states that, “Whether BPA can cause human health effects is a matter of some debate; the potential for harm to infants and the fetus is currently considered more likely than harm to adults.” But the piece concludes: “In our data, BPA levels appear to drop about eight times more slowly than expected – so slowly, in fact, that race and sex together have as big an influence on BPA levels as fasting time.”

The study was not perfect, the subjects in the study could drink tap water, black coffee and diet soda (hopefully not from cans lined with BPA). However, there was more BPA detected in the body that still gives us reason to be concerned.

These findings suggests that BPA may linger in the body longer, or that BPA may come from other sources like tap water (where BPA leaches from PVC pipes). Another theory is that BPA may be stored in body fat.

This is interesting because BPA may play a larger role in disease that we thought.

A 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that people with higher urinary BPA levels have more medical disorders. Another intriguing study from 2008 showed that BPA — at normal levels of exposure — disrupts a hormone involved in insulin sensitivity and diabetes. And a 2007 study showed that obese people are much more likely to suffer insulin resistance if they have high fat levels of organic pollutants.

“Imagine if what we think is caused by obesity is actually caused by persistent organics in the fat of obese people,” Stahlhut says. “If they don’t have the organics, they don’t have the diabetes. That would be huge.”

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Sources
WebMD
FastCompany

Posted on February 10, 2009February 10, 2009 by Trisha

BPA mimics estrogen and phthalates block testosterone

This article sums up pretty much what we already know, but it does a good job of showing how BPA acts like estrogen and phthalates block testosterone. I did learn that BPA exposure to babies in the womb have a greater negative effect on girls than boys, causing more reproductive harm than I thought.

Mice that were exposed to BPA as fetuses developed abnormalities of the ovaries, uterus, and vagina, Dr. Taylor said. Other murine studies found genetic abnormalities in eggs, an increased risk of mammary cancers, and early puberty in females.

The list of problems was shorter for male mice exposed to the chemical, with reduced sperm production and increased prostate size at the top.

And for phthalates…

Studies in male animals have found reduced sperm production, undescended testes, hypospadias, decreased testosterone production, and reduced anogenital distance.

The chemical’s effects on female reproduction were far fewer, with murine studies linking it to delayed or premature puberty.

They touch on the FDA’s stance that BPA is safe, where the FDA states they did not have sufficient evidence. However, human studies would be difficult. For one, a human study on either substance would be difficult since the entire population is exposed to both chemicals. Also, subjecting humans to high levels of this stuff would be unethical.

“Sometimes you just have to make decisions based on ‘inadequate’ evidence,” Dr. Lustig said regarding the FDA’s investigation of BPA, and potentially phthalates. “You just [make them] based on the right thing to do.”

Amen to that.

Read the entire article here.

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Posted on January 21, 2009 by Trisha · 2 Comments

The Real Story Behind Bisphenol A

How a handful of consultants used Big Tobacco’s tactics to sow doubt about science and hold off regulation of BPA, a chemical in hundreds of products that could be harming an entire generation.

I always liked FastCompany magazine. There are always great articles. Well, they have recently looked into the BPA controversy / debate as well and published an article here last week. They looked at both sides, the history, how the studies were done, what the FDA reviewed and who funded the studies, etc. Pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about the BPA issue. They interviewed several folks from both sides. It’s a very long, but very interesting read.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the article:
“The United States has a long tradition of keeping harmful substances — lead, DDT, tobacco, PCBs — on the market for decades after scientists find adverse effects.”

“Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, who has launched numerous investigations into the agency, contends, “The FDA has got to be a watchdog, not a business partner with industry.”

“If these low-dose findings were counterintuitive to toxicologists, they made perfect sense to developmental biologists. After all, BPA is a synthetic hormone. Any physician knows that at small doses, most hormones are extremely powerful in stimulating their target organs, while at higher doses — above a certain threshold — they can paralyze these same organs. (Testosterone powers the male sex drive, for instance, but at high doses causes impotence.)”

Very interesting indeed. I could pull more quotes, but then I may as well copy the whole article! They have uncovered what many of us already know – there is enough evidence that it may cause harm at any dose so it is best to just avoid BPA altogether. Retailers such as Babies R Us, Wal-Mart and Target had said they would stop selling polycarbonate baby bottles at the end of 2008 (though I have seen them on the shelves as of last week). Nalgene has gone to a BPA-free plastic water bottle as consumers demand a safer product and the FDA sits and takes money from the plastic industry and tries to convince us that BPA is safe when there are over 100 studies not funded by the plastics that claim otherwise.

BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a hormone-mimicking chemical found in plastic polycarbonate baby bottles, water bottles, dental filings, in the lining of canned foods, etc. Even at low doses it can affect the endocrine system. Learn more here.

I have several lists with safer alternatives to polycarbonate plastics.
BPA free bottles, sippy cups and food storage
BPA and phthalate free pacifiers
BPA and phthalate free teethers and rattles
BPA free dishes, utensils, snack containers and food storage for kids

And I am finishing up my BPA free food storage list in between nursing my newborn, so please check back!

Posted on August 19, 2008October 4, 2008 by Trisha · 3 Comments

BPA and Phthalate Free Pacifiers

Several have asked about BPA pacifiers, I have asked myself since I am 26 weeks pregnant and will be needing new pacis as well. I’ve done a little digging and these are what I found. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list, just the ones I have found. New BPA-free products are coming out all the time and it’s getting hard to keep up, which is a good thing! If you are aware of another product that is BPA free and not listed here, please let me know and I will certainly add it!

As far as I know there are not any BPA-free Avent or MAM pacifiers. The bulky part that sits on the baby’s mouth contains BPA, not the nipple. Silicone and latex nipples on bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers do not contain BPA.

And since phthalates will be found in teethers, bath toys and rubber duckies for the next 6 months, I am working on lists for those too, so check back for more lists!

BPA & Phthalate Free Pacifiers

Born Free: 0-6 month Day and Night version and the 6+ month Day and Night version
Evenflo: Mimi Soft Touch, Mimi Premium, Mimi Neo One-Piece, Vizion, Fuzion, and Illuzion
Gerber: NUK Original, NUK Classic, NUK Nautical
Gumdrop Silicon Pacifiers
Happy Baby Soothers
Natursutten Natural Rubber Paci
Playtex: Playtex “Binky” (one piece silicone pacifier), Binky Most Like Mother Latex Pacifier, Binky Most Like Mother Silicone Pacifier, Binky Angled Pacifier, Ortho-Pro Pacifier
The First Years: Soothies Silicone, Teething Pacifier, Safe Comfort, Ultra Kip
Vice Versa Binky w/ Case

Please check back for more lists, coming soon!

Posted on March 26, 2008April 11, 2008 by Trisha

Estrogen Mimicry of Bisphenol-A Threatens Human and Animal Health

Very interesting. This article is stating that BPA found in canned foods, baby bottles, plastic containers and wrap, etc. could be a factor in obesity and other health problems, such as diabetes and ADD/ADAH.

(NaturalNews) Bisphenol-A could be making us fatter. Diet and too little exercise are the main culprits of what has been called the obesity epidemic, but the hormone mimicker bisphenol-A might be tipping the scales, so to speak.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is mainly found in polycarbonate plastic, which is labeled with the number 7; in plastic food wrap, and in the resins that coat the inside of metal cans for food. It is so prevalent in today’s products that it is even in refrigerator shelving, water bottles, plastic food storage containers, water pipes and flooring.

BPA is an endocrine disrupter that mimics the hormone estrogen. Studies have shown harmful biological effects on animals using low-doses of the chemical and harmful effects on humans have been observed outside of studies. Hormone disrupting effects have been shown to occur at levels of application as low as 2-5 pars per billion and many canned foods are within and over this range. [1] With such a low level of toxicity, it’s easy to see how even a minuscule rate of bisphenol-A (BPA) leakage from plastics disturbs many people. The damaging effects of the chemical include impairment and unnatural changes to sex organs and their functions, increased tumor formation, hyperactivity, neurotoxin effects, and signs of early puberty have been observed. Clearly, BPA’s toxic effects are diverse.

A recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that about 93% of the United States population have bisphenol-A in their body at a median concentration of 2.7 ppb. [2]

Read the entire article.

Related Articles:

“Cheat sheet” of BPA-free sippy cups and bottles

Pregnant women told to avoid BPA

Today Show report on BPA & plastic safety

BPA may lead to health problems such as obesity and ADD/ADHD

Whole Foods private label canned food contain BPA

Canned foods and BPA

BPA is found in infant formula

Gerber baby food containers

BPA and other plastic safety

Z Recommends: The Z Report on BPA In Infant Care Products, Third Edition

Environmental Working Group: Guide to Baby Safe Bottles & Formula

Environmental Working Groups Report on BPA in Baby Formula

Breastmilk contains stem cells

Breastmilk cures

Can breastmilk cure cancer?

Posted on March 26, 2008April 11, 2008 by Trisha

Plastics additive raises safety fears

Plastics additive raises safety fears
By Wade Rawlins
McClatchey Newspapers

The plastic additive is leaching from your water bottles, soda cans, baby bottles, microwaveable dishes — just about anything made of certain lightweight clear plastics.

And it mimics the hormone estrogen, which some research indicates could harm human health, particularly the development of fetuses and newborn babies.

Known as BPA, bisphenol-A has been used in commercial production of lightweight plastics and epoxy resins since the 1950s. Billions of pounds are produced annually. Traces of it are found in almost everyone — including the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies.

Although the chemical industry contends that the weight of scientific evidence on bisphenol-A doesn’t support claims of harm, the chemical remains controversial. Studies flagging the compound’s possible health threat to humans have made people nervous about the plastics they use every day to serve and store food.

“There is a cause for concern,” said Gerald LeBlanc, chairman of the department of environmental and molecular toxicology at N.C. State.

“It’s not something we should be sweeping under the rug.”

Read the entire article.

Related Articles:

“Cheat sheet” of BPA-free sippy cups and bottles

Pregnant women told to avoid BPA

Today Show report on BPA & plastic safety

BPA may lead to health problems such as obesity and ADD/ADHD

Whole Foods private label canned food contain BPA

Canned foods and BPA

BPA is found in infant formula

Gerber baby food containers