I'm the proud auntie of an adorable baby boy. Last spring, when my little nephew hadn't quite hatched yet, I spent a Saturday afternoon with my mother-in-law, scouring the baby shops of Berkeley for glass baby bottles. My husband's brother had read up on Bisphenol A-contaminated baby bottles and decided he didn't want to take chances by feeding his future little one out of any kind of plastic. BPA is a common plastic additive that leaches into foods heated in plastic containers. It's dangerous for infants because of its hormone-like effects, which mimic the activity of estrogen.
Problem is, if like my brother-in-law and sister-in-law you don't live in an urban area, glass bottles are hard to find. "BPA-free" plastic baby bottles, on the other hand, are now widely available, but my brother-in-law really wanted glass.
It turns out his Dad instincts were in exactly the right place. According to new research from Canada, at least two brands of "BPA-free" baby bottles are contaminated with enough BPA to leach into fatty liquids (hello, milk!) in appreciable amounts. The researchers didn't publicize which brands are contaminated, a decision which will probably send even more soon-to-be parents, aunties and grandmas hunting for glass bottles.
Previously: Bye, bye BPA baby bottles
Photo by nerissa's ring
