What is BPA?
BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a chemical used mainly to produce polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. It is used in many places, but of concern to us is its use in water bottles, infant bottles and portable containers.
Why is it a problem?
BPA can leach into food from containers that contain BPA, such as any of the aforementioned containers. The chief concern is how widespread the use of BPA is, and therefore the emergence of containers marketed as BPA-free.
How can I identify a container that may have BPA in it?
Polycarbonate plastic containers containers usually contain a “7″ on the bottom. However, “7″ is used to denote “other plastics”, so it alone doesn’t mean a container contains BPA. If the plastic is hard and clear, it’s probably polycarbonate. Plastics marked with 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 do not use BPA during the manufacturing process. The only way to be 100% sure is to check with the manufacturer.
What can I do?
The NIH found that some animal studies suggested that infants and children are affected by BPA the most. The NIH suggests
- not microwaving polycarbonate plastic containers
- reduce use of canned foods, since BPA may be in the resin that coats the cans
- use glass, porcelain or stainless steel containers, or BPA-free plastic containers (SC Johnson says that they do not use BPA in their plastic products, Ziploc bags or Saran wraps)
Recommended Reading
- National Institute of Health
- Wikipedia entry for Bisphenol A
- SC Johnson statement on BPA
- New York Times: A Hard Plastic Is Raising Hard Questions
More about Amy and Scott Dawson, creators of Lunchtaker.com: One of our core focuses is on nutrition and fitness. Our children both attended a parent cooperative pre-school where the morning snack was as healthy as possible, and our family liked the opportunities for new foods that arose in pre-school. As our children go through grade school, we are focusing on continuing the trend of ensuring we feed ourselves a variety of foods, all good for our bodies... read more...
Posted Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 8:29 am and filed under Environmental, Lunch Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
