The battle vs. BPA in infant bottles

Environmentalists are waging a battle against BPA (Bisphenol A) found particularly in baby feeding bottles. Their outcry (that may well echo in the hearts of mothers) is for the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health “to release a long-pending Administrative Order banning BPA in baby feeding bottles and sippy cups.

BPA is a synthetic chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins (used to coat metal products like food cans, which can leach to our food, and water supply pipes). Polycarbonate is used in common products we use every day like CDs, DVDs, electronic equipment, food and drink containers.

The public interest group promoting chemical safety and public health warns that BPA is a “recognized endocrine-disrupting chemical that has been linked to various health problems such as asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, infertility, erectile dysfunction, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and breast and prostate cancers, even at low doses of exposure.”

Fact is, we’re exposed to BPA in our daily lives: It’s in the air that we breathe, the dust, the water that we drink, the food that we eat. Our exposure is so widespread. For instance, the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found detectable levels of BPA in 93% of 2,517 urine samples from people six years and older.

In a letter EcoWaste Coalition sent to DOH, the group appealed to Acting Secretary Janette Garin “to hasten the issuance of the proposed DOH Administrative Order entitled the ‘Prohibition on the Manufacture, Importation, Advertisement and Sale of Polycarbonate Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups Containing Bisphenol A in the Philippines.’”  

It was back in July 2010 that the EcoWaste Coalition started urging health authorities to impose a precautionary ban on BPA starting with children’s products such as baby feeding bottles due to the mounting concern about the adverse effects of exposure to BPA on human health.

Thony Dizon, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect, writes, “We’re deeply concerned about the lamentable delay in issuing the said Administrative Order in light of increased global concern over human exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) and the string of scientific studies validating such concern. Our country’s lack of technical capacity to analyze baby feeding bottles and sippy cups for BPA content should not stop the government from moving ahead with the precautionary ban, an essential measure to safeguard children’s health.”

The burden of proving that baby feeding bottles and sippy cups are safe from BPA rests with their manufacturers, importers, and distributors, adds Dizon.

The group notes that over 30 states have already banned BPA, particularly in baby feeding bottles. These include Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Africa, USA, and the 28-country European Union, with France banning BPA in all food contact materials in 2015.  China, the country’s largest trading partner, banned BPA in baby feeding bottles way back in June 2011.

The group likewise noted that Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago has proposed the “BPA In Baby Products Prohibition Act” (SBN 395), while Representatives Rufus Rodriguez and Angelina Tan have filed similar bills (HB 4234 and HB 2340, respectively) in the House of Representatives.

Hoping their petition will not be ignored like a cry in the dark, the group speaks for all mothers and their babies and restates its stance to “defend the right of every baby to mother’s milk, the first complete and zero waste food, from the direct assault of deceptive advertising and promotion of artificial breastfeeding and chemical pollution.”

Infants and children are the most vulnerable to the effects of BPA. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences gives these tips to parents so they can reduce their infants’ exposure to BPA:

• Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Polycarbonate is strong and durable, but over time, it may break down from overuse at high temperatures.

• Plastic containers have recycle codes on the bottom. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with recycle codes 3 or 7 may be made with BPA.

• Reduce your use of canned foods.

• When possible, use glass, porcelain or stainless steel containers, particularly for hot food or liquids.

• Use baby bottles that are BPA-free.