No more BPA in baby bottles

There’s no more need to look for the BPA-free label on new baby bottles – the chemical won’t be used anymore.

The six biggest manufacturers of baby bottles -- Avent America, Disney First Years, Dr. Brown, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex – have agreed to stop using the chemical bisphenol A to treat its plastic baby bottles.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal contacted the six companies, asking them to voluntarily stop using the chemical. The AGs from Delaware and New Jersey signed on to the letter. The six companies agreed to the US ban, without saying that BPA is dangerous. They may still sell them overseas.

BPA has been in use since the ‘50s, and had been considered safe at small doses until recently. Studies have shown a link between BPA consumption and an array of difficulties later in life, including liver and heart disease, diabetes, and brain dysfunction. The damage was shown at much lower levels than that deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA’s BPA safety information, it turned out, came from just two industry-funded studies. Canada banned the sale of BPA baby bottles last year. Numerous retailers have since done the same, and a crop of new bottles come with the BPA-free branding.

Blumenthal is now working on removing BPA-treated plastic from infant formula containers.