I think we’ve established the existence of BPA in our children’s bottles is a bad thing. Retailers have quickly scrambled to remove them from shelves after the Canadian Government took steps to label BPA a dangerous substance.
So we’ve taken steps to save our kids. Now it’s time to have a look through the rest of our cupboards and see what’s doing damage to us.
It has everything broken down by manufacturer, product, and recycle number. It explains everything simply, and if you find anything on the list in red in your cupboards, you’ve got to get rid of it.
Actually, my colleague is done with plastic, and the microwave altogether. I might be heading that direction too.
**UPDATE** for some reason the links above don’t link directly to the pdf file. Please right click on the picture or the text link and choose “Save Link As” to download the file and view it.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Another day another press release setting the record straight about BPA.
This one comes from London Drugs, long our saviour for returning the BPA bottles. LD has curtailed their amnesty, where you didn’t need a receipt to return your old bottles, but is still accepting returns with receipts.
Here’s what they’re doing for the next stage of the battle:
Customers will find BPA-free products in London Drugs’ Baby section, BPA-free Reusable Water bottles, and BPA-free food storage containers
Richmond, BC – (May 8, 2008) - With the health and safety of our customers being of utmost importance, London Drugs immediately removed baby bottles, sippy cups and select food containers and water bottles containing BPA from store shelves in April and provided customers refunds for 50,000 products – mostly baby bottles - containing BPA.
London Drugs now offers only BPA-free baby bottles, toddler sippy cups and child drinking cups from reputable manufacturers such as Born-Free, Chicco, Nuby, Medela, Nurture Pure and Thermos. London Drugs Pharmacy is also offering BPA-free collection kits with Ameda breast pump rentals.
Further to the BPA-free baby products available, London Drugs also offers a wide variety of Canadian Thermos and Bilt Fresco stainless steel products including bottles, mugs, food jars and carafes. Rubbermaid, Sterilite and Starfrit Lock & Lock BPA-free food storage containers and reusable water bottles are also available at London Drugs.
Nalgene reusable water bottles containing BPA have been removed from London Drugs store shelves and we have quantities, although limited at present, of BPA- free Nalgene water bottles. We are working with Nalgene to increase these quantities as soon as more BPA-free Nalgene product becomes available.
In response to customer requests and concern for the environment, London Drugs has been accepting old BPA baby bottles and sippy cups for recycling or for return to the manufacturer, and we will continue to provide refunds for BPA baby bottles purchased from London Drugs returned with a valid receipt. London Drugs will no longer refund BPA baby bottles without a valid London Drugs receipt.
London Drugs was happy to provide immediate assistance to both consumers and suppliers during this transition period stemming from Health Canada’s concerns regarding baby bottles containing BPA.
We are pleased to report that our baby bottle suppliers are also now prepared to directly address consumers who are seeking an alternative to polycarbonate bottles containing BPA. Consumers are invited to speak directly with a knowledgeable care representative who can provide assistance.
For baby bottles supplied by Philips AVENT: call 1-866-624-1906
For baby bottles supplied by Playtex: call 1-800-387-1300 or visit their site
For frequently asked questions about BPA in food storage and beverage products, please visit Rubbermaid.
Customers can also call a London Drugs customer service specialist for more information at 1-888-991-2299.
I still have the problem with Avent being listed in the press release. They’re a part of the pro-BPA lobby and if you call up the number you mighthave to filter out some misinformation and hammer them for some hard truths.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The stereotypical line that parents drop in the movies right before a spanking comes down.
This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.
Until you have kids you can never really understand what that means. Anything that happens to our child rips us into a million pieces. From a faceplant while crawling to a spit up from just being excited - anything “bad” that happens to our kids kills us a little bit inside.
So let’s introduce daycare into the mix. Jen and I are struggling with the weaning this week. It’s supposed to be a time where the child can adjust to new surroundings and get used to time away from Mom and Dad. That’s what they say.
Here’s the truth: The week of weaning is for the parents.
It was my turn today to drop off Z. I hung out for an hour or so to see how things are done and find out about their routine. I stayed off on the side, observing.
Z had no idea if I was there or not.
Yes, this is going to hurt us a lot more than it’s going to hurt him. It already does.
When I was 2 years old, both of my parents worked full-time and during business hours I went to daycare. It was a place in Santa Cruz called TAM School, where “TAM” stood for Teen Age Mothers, even though my mom was 33 years old. Who knows.
I remember laying on a cot in a dark room with a bunch of other kids, not sleeping. Not upset, just laying there with my eyes open. Some time later, my mom comes to pick me up and as we’re getting my things together to go home, the person in charge says to her, “Sarah didn’t take a nap today.” To which my mom replies with a sigh, “Oh, well, that’s ok.”
This is the recipe for Bolognese Sauce I use for Z’s spaghetti.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
50g finely chopped onion
20g chopped celery
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 medium carrot (approx 85g), peeled and grated
100 g lean minced beef
150 ml Passata
100 ml unsalted stock or boiling water
1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves or a pinch of dried thyme
a pinch of sugar
3 tbsp Annabel Karmel’s Mini Pasta Shells
Method:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and celery over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the grated carrot and sauté for 4 minutes. In a separate pan, dry fry the minced beef until browned, stirring occasionally. Add to the onion and carrot. Pour over the tomato and basil sauce, boiling water or stock and add the thyme and pinch of sugar. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 12 minutes. Remove from the pan and pulse for a second or two in a blender to make a smoother texture.
Meanwhile, cook the shell pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and mix with the Bolognese sauce.
Information
Suitable for freezing
From 9 months
MAKES 3 PORTIONS [source]
I don’t use the pasta shells. I make a batch of the sauce and then sprinkle in La Molisana’s Spinagarda pasta. It’s shaped like grains of rice and is the perfect length for Z. I don’t actually cook the pasta, I just toss it in when the sauce is done and it soaks up the extra water and cooks itself.
Make the oatmeal as per the package. In a saucepan sautee the diced apples and pears in 1 1/2c of water. I toss in a pat of butter and a cinnamon stick too. Just sautee and boil the apples and pears until they break down like mashed potatos. Add extra water if you need to.
When they’re done, mash the apples up and mix with the oatmeal. Put in ice cube trays and freeze.
We give Z two or three cubes of oatmeal for breakfast each day mixed with a piece of fresh banana, or some mango or blueberries. It’s the perfect breakfast!
It’s so easy to make your own baby food. Try it!
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Wow. This site has seen a HUGE run of traffic since I started writing about BPA. Many people are going back to my original thread introducing the issues, the return your bottles to London Drugs info and other pages making comments.
Since you may have seen the original threads, but not the updated info in the comments, I’m tossing up this update with the latest info:
FYI, London Drugs will be requiring a receipt after May 5, 2008 for any BPA infant bottle returns so get them in before then. I just saw a sign in their store today and confirmed that with their customer service line 1-888-991-2299.
LD has a max return limit of 6 Avent bottles at a time but not every clerk seems to enforce that. From speaking with a clerk, eventually Avent will will not be accepting any more bottles back so this program will be phased out. But LD should give some notice 1-2 weeks before that happens. Keep up the good work! [source]
Playtex Advance are no good. Check their website, they are offering free samples of their drop-ins plus have a chart of all their products and whether they are BPA free or not. . TJ Kids and Toysrus both have Evenflo glass bottles for $3.79 (very reasonable compared to other options).
Talked to Canadian Springs this morning. They are claiming that their bottles are safe for several reasons…1. They are not boiled clean, they first clean with mild cleanser and lukewarm water, then they are disinfected with Ozone. 2. At any sign of wear, they are recycled and not used again. I gotta admit I’m not 100% convinced with their answer though.
Tupperware has this on their website. Rock n serve/heat and serve are “7″s…They are saying though that the amount of BPA in the plastic is minimal, thus they have no plans at the moment to recall or change anything. (this is what I hear from my consultant). [source]
I just came back from groceries at Save-On-Foods and their baby aisle was once full of Avent BPA badness, but it has been cleaned out. Good for them.
Even Avent is starting to buckle under the pressure and is offering customers samples of BPA-free products.
If you call 1-800-843-2174 and speak to a consumer care representative they will send you out free samples of their BPA-free bottles and sippy cups. [source]
That said, they’re still a part of the pro-BPA lobby. Which makes you wonder .. If BPA isn’t bad, why are they taking full page ads out in Ottawa newspapers offering free samples of a product that is BPA free and promoted as such?
Since Canada made the first announcements about BPA being harmful, the American govt has made moves to align themselves with Canada’s stance.
Emboldened by Canada’s decision to ban plastic baby bottles containing bisphenol A, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are proposing a law that prohibits the controversial chemical from all plastic products made for children who are up to the age of seven. [source]
Europe, as well, is following Canada’s lead and having deeper concerns about BPA.
So why is it then that Starbucks and Tim Hortons are still selling travel mugs that contain BPA?
I have no clue.
The main source of exposure for babies is through migration of BPA from boiling water poured into polycarbonate bottles. Clement said the use of BPA in linings of tin cans for infant formula remains a concern, but he opted against a wider ban in favour of establishing migration targets for industry.
Last month, a draft brief on BPA, released by the National Institutes of Health’s National Toxicology Program (NTP), singled out exposure to infants and children as a concern.
“There is some concern for neural and behavioural effects in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures. The NTP also has some concern for bisphenol A exposure in these populations, based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty in females,” the federal agency concluded. [source]
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Jen’s tour of duty on mat leave expires next Monday. The day after her first Mother’s Day she will drive to a community centre and hand off care of our son to complete strangers. I think Alanis Morissette wrote a song about situations like this.
I know millions of people on this planet have other people help with child care each and every day. But that’s those people, and that’s their children.
This is us. This is our child.
I lay awake in bed last night and had one of the worst thoughts I have ever had. There’s a reasonable possibility that neither Jennifer nor I will see Zacharie take his first steps, nor hear his first words.
Strangers will.
It’s absolutely crushing.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I’ve been on the BPA Bandwagon big for the past two weeks. Funny how having a baby changes your perspective.
When Mountain Equipment Co-Op was pulling the bottles from their shelves last year, I was aware of what was going on, but I didnt make the connection between sport drinking bottles and our son’s bottles. Now I’m a BPA Nazi.
And not everyone is hearing the message.
Earlier this week Starbucks was serving up free coffee to anyone who swung through with a portable coffee mug. Guess what most of them were probably made of? BPA. Have a look. If your mug is plastic and has a 7 on the bottom, it’s, most likely, made of the nastiness. A colleague of mine was in Starbucks downtown checking out the mugs and you have to actually remove the price tag (you know the one that still doesnt accurately reflect exchange rates) to see the recycle number. Clever.
I do my groceries at Save-On-Foods and had to swing through the baby aisle to pick up some teething cookies for Z. Guess what their entire section of baby bottles consisted of? Avent. It’s a GREAT bottle, it’s what we used. It’s also one of the worst offenders when it comes to BPA.
Here’s what’s on the Avent BPA FAQ site this week (which, for the record, is different than last week):
Do Philips AVENT baby bottles contain Bisphenol A (BPA)?
Philips AVENT reusable bottles, such as the AirFlex, are made from polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate plastic is approved for use and lawful for sale in every country where Philips AVENT products are sold, including in North America and Europe. [source]
They never did answer the question. Do they contain BPA? Yes. But they won’t admit to it. Instead, they throw up another misdirecting question.
Do ALL Philips AVENT feeding products contain Bisphenol A (BPA)?
No. Our range of baby feeding products also includes products made from materials other than polycarbonate, hence not containing BPA. The Philips AVENT Via Feeding System, Tempo Liners and Magic range (Cups and Sportster) are made from polypropylene or polyethylene, neither of which contains BPA. [source]
Okay, ALL Avent bottles may not have BPA, but guess what? The ones that most of us are using DO contain BPA and the company refuses to fess up to it.
Dale Wytiaz, Avent America’s Vice President of Sales for North America, currently serves on the board of directors of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which has maintained an aggressive stance in favor of polycarbonate plastic in public statements made as recently as February 2008. Avent is also listed as a member of the Coalition for Consumer Choice, a pro-BPA group which promotes anti-regulatory messages on behalf of major toy, feeding product, and trade organizations.[source]
Avent sells a microwave sterilizer for your bottles. One of the ways the BPA is leeched out of the plastic is by heating the bottles. Nothing like sterilizing your baby’s bottles with toxin. We had one, thankfully our micro was too small for it to fit.
My blog’s traffic has seen a huge spike since I’ve been writing about BPA as the message spreads. You can see it in my GoogleAds at the bottom of each post. Most of them are BPA related.
The ironic thing is that while I have continued my attack on Avent and calling them out as a BPA offender, their ads continue to show up on my site. No doubt they have AdSense seeking out their name as a keyword to attach an ad to blogs and sites.
London Drugs is taking back ALL bottles made with BPA. No.questions.asked. You get a gift card in amount of the FULL retail price.
A pal of mine told me about the program and Jen had heard about it too. She took ALL of our Avent bottles back, the nipples, the soothers, the microwave sterilizer. ALL OF IT. In the end, Jen walked out with a $200 store credit.
The guy at the Customer Service counter was apologizing to Jen for them having sold the stuff in the first place.
“London Drugs has been educating customers about the dangers of BPA since
January,” said Wynne Powell, president of London Drugs. “When we learned of
the possible risks from BPA, we immediately started purchasing BPA-free
products and providing customers with information to help them make an
informed choice when purchasing products like plastic baby bottles and sippy
cups. As concern continued to mount around BPA earlier this week, we
immediately removed all baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, and select food
containers and water bottles containing BPA from our store shelves. Our
customer service specialists in our stores and at our head office in Richmond
are available to answer our customers’ questions and provide information on
these BPA alternatives.” [source]
We didnt buy our bottles from London Drugs, they were given as gifts at showers etc, but LD took them back.
They’ll also take back your stanky Nalgene bottles too.
Amazing. Congratulations. Way to go.
BTW, London Drugs sells BornFree, a brand of plastic bottles made WITHOUT BPA. We switched Z over to them this week and he has had no issues with the new nipples etc. Guess what we’re getting with our $200 gift card from London Drugs??
Thank you London Drugs. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The Globe and Mail has been ALL OVER the BPA story this week. Again today, they have more revelations, and more evidence that BPA is harmful.
Bisphenol A… has the ability to alter the activity of genes in normal breast cells in ways that resemble what is found in extremely dangerous breast cancers, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by researchers in California and published this month in the journal Cancer Research, found that many genes in non-cancerous breast cells exposed to trace amounts of bisphenol A began acting in a way that closely resembled the gene activity in highly aggressive breast tumours that led to an increased likelihood that women would die of the disease.
The link “is highly supportive of the concept that overexposure to BPA and/or similar compounds could be an underlying factor in the aggressiveness, if not in the causality” of breast cancers, said Shanaz Dairkee, lead author of the study and senior scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, in an e-mail.[source]
With that ammunition, the Canadian government took action today to deem BPA a dangerous substance.
“Canada has been the first country in the world to conduct risk assessments on a number of chemicals of concern, as a result of a new initiative announced by the Prime Minister on December 8, 2006 known as the Chemicals Management Plan,” said Minister Clement. “We have immediately taken action on bisphenol A, because we believe it is our responsibility to ensure families, Canadians and our environment are not exposed to a potentially harmful chemical.”[source]
It’s not enough to have it banned, but enough to scare retailers across the country to get the stuff off their shelves. Some manufacturers are also getting the message.
Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives. [source]
Are the Myths About Polycarbonate Bottles True? New Information Supports the Safe Use of Polycarbonate Bottles - February 5, 2008
Polycarbonate Bottles Are Still Safe For Use – In Spite of the Latest Scare Story - January 31, 2008
New Data from CDC Confirms Human Exposure to Bisphenol A in the United States is Far Below Safe Limits - November 1, 2007
Sound Science Prevails in Review of Bisphenol A - August 8, 2007
Myths? Scare tactics? Safe?
Like I said yesterday, these arguments sound a lot like those that came from big tobacco in the 80s and 90s.
I’ve been most concerned about baby bottles and soothers and dishes with this news. But sports bottles and home water coolers are also affected. Yes, home water cooler jugs. The big ones where you get home delivery? Look at the number on the bottom.
A key to whether a bottle contains BPA can be found in the recycling number at the bottom of the bottle or on a label. Most drink containers sold in stores have the number “1″, recommended for one-time use only. Containers considered toxin-free include number “2″ high-density polyethylene (HDPE), number “4″ low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and number “5″ polypropylene (PP).
However, baby bottles, many drinking cups and polycarbonate bottles marked with recycle number “7″ contain BPA. Many oversized bottles used for home and office water coolers — including those from Canadian Springs — are made of the “7″ variety.
Calls to a half-dozen water companies that deliver to B.C. homes and offices, including Canadian Springs, were not returned Thursday. [source]
If you’re not willing to take chances with your life, or the life of your children, have a read of this earlier posting to find out companies that produce BPA free products and other steps you can take to be safe.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I started to think this morning, as I did more research on BPA and who says it’s okay, and who says it’s bad, that the manufacturers were behaving like big tobacco back in the day.
You know, throwing out studies saying their products were just fine, thank you very much, while governments took steps to ban them.
Polycarbonates are used in thousands of consumer products such as reusable food containers, lifesaving medical devices and sport safety equipment. Manufacturers of such products, including baby bottles use polycarbonate because it prevents cracking, shattering and other hazards that can lead to injuries. The key concern for parents is whether BPA can get into their child’s food through leaching from polycarbonate bottles.
That’s directly from the Avent website, one of the most popular manufacturers of baby bottles because their nipples are very representative of the human form. Jen’s friends all recommended Avent to us. This morning Jen called the company and, sure enough, they copped to the BPA and admitted their bottles have a recycle number of 7.
So Jen called the recycling depot and guess what? The bottles are NOT recyclable. They’re nasty, nasty, nasty.
The bottle manufacturers have heard the sabre rattling. They get that HBC, Canadian Tire, WalMart and others are removing BPA products from the shelves, and they’re fighting back - by saying nothing’s wrong.
Found in a wide variety of products, lightweight and shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastic has been the material of choice in baby bottles for 25 years. The potential for exposure to bisphenol A from bottles has been extensively examined and the results reviewed by government bodies worldwide that have responsibility for assessing the safety of consumer products.
“The findings in NTP’s draft report provide reassurance that consumers can continue to use products made from BPA,” said Robert Waller, Jr., CAE, president of JPMA. “Sound and respected scientific research has consistently shown there is no danger to consumers when products are used as intended.”
There is significant data available on the safety of BPA. From baby bottles and food packaging, to bicycle helmets and eyeglass lenses, as well as incubators and components of many life-saving medical devices, polycarbonate plastic makes everyday lives better and safer. [source]
It doesn’t make sense.
If it is so harmless, why is the Canadian government moving to label it a toxic substance? The use of BPA is so widespread, that to remove it from shelves will have significant impact. Why go through the hassle if it’s “no big deal” as JPMA and Avent would have us believe.
Cigarettes are killers. The tobacco company lied about it for decades before getting caught.
Now baby bottles are dangerous and the manufacturers are lying about it too? These are BABIES we’re talking about. INFANTS. Our CHILDREN.
Why are you LYING to me about the health and safety of my child?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I think we’ve established the existence of BPA in our children’s bottles is a bad thing. Retailers have quickly scrambled to remove them from shelves after the Canadian Government took steps to label BPA a dangerous substance.
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