I admit that I'm not comforted by the statement, but Laura Tarantino, a senior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist, said today that "A margin of safety exists that is adequate to protect consumers, including infants andchildren, at the current levels of exposure (to BPA)." I'm not comforted because the rest of the article where that quote appears (published on Yahoo! but written by two Associated Press writers) provides strong evidence that BPA (bisphenol A) does have health consequences. I'm of the opinion that it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to health concerns -- what damage can I do by reducing the amount of plastic in our lives? -- so I've tried to switch to using glass or ceramic cups and containers whenever possible. I actually bought two 12 ounce Klean Kanteen bottles yesterday for my daughters at the Container Store and will post about how they're working out after a few days, but seeing this article made me wish I'd bought more so that I could throw away (or recycle if I can) the rest of our sippy cups.
In case you're wondering about the baby bottles or sippy cups you have at home, check page 3 of the Smart Plastics Guide (published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy) to see if yours are listed. It's also a good primer on the different types of plastics and which ones to avoid -- their catchy "With your food, use 4, 5, 1, and 2 -- All the rest aren't good for you" phrase makes it easy to remember their recommendations.
If you're looking for an alternative, less expensive source for high quality stainless steel bottles, visit CynerGreen's website and their kids website.
They promote plastic free and completely BPA free water bottles, selling both to individuals and in volume.
I have one and I really love it.
Posted by: LivingGreenFL | September 17, 2008 at 11:17 AM