Have you heard about bisphenol A (BPA)? It is a substance in manufactured plastics that has been linked to cancers and other health-related problems. You may have heard the warning that you shouldn’t heat or freeze many plastic containers because of this reason.
Well, now the news is even worse. According to BabyTalk magazine, a panel of specialists in environmental health recently expressed some concerns that babies and young children exposed to BPA could experience neurological and behavioral problems later in life.
BPA is usually found in clear, hard plastics that are often used as food storage containers (like tupperware or other disposable containers), in baby bottles and in toddler sippy cups. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is actively reviewing safety concerns regarding BPA, and at the moment says there is no cause for alarm. Personally, I do have some concern, since all of the data isn’t yet available, and after all, we are talking about the health of children.
So, after reading the latest information, I decided to do a quick sweep of our household food-related plastic to see if we were at risk of owning plastics that contain BPA.
While the best thing to do is to stay away from all plastics, sometimes that isn’t possible. Would you give your toddler a cup made out of glass or ceramics to cart around all day? And while the only true way to determine the presence of BPA is in the lab, there are a few things that you can look for around your home.
The BPA plastics are generally hard and clear. Choose colored and opaque plastic cups and bottles. Use bottle liners for baby bottles. Look for the recycling triangle at the bottom of your plastics. If it has a number 7, then it probably contains BPA.
I’m happy to say that I didn’t find anything that seemed to contain the chemical. If you do a check of your home, please leave a comment!
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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To learn more about BPA and its impact on babies, read this excellent article: Is Your Baby Bottle Safe–UPDATE