Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial grade chemical used to produce hard clear plastics and is also used in the protective lining of some food and beverage cans.
BPA makes those products easier to use, but at the cost of possibly causing significant side effects that may damage your health and that of your child.
BPA was discovered in the 1890s, but it wasn't until the 1950s that chemists found it could be added to polycarbonate plastics, to make them stronger and more resilient.
Find out what's happening in Ramseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Even after BPA demonstrable its ability, even at low doses, to mimic estrogen, have effects; on the brain, on behavior, on blood pressure, as well as fetal and infant development, the FDA continues to say it is safe in low doses.
BPA is still found in multiple products in your home, such as food containers, baby toys, plastic bottles and containers.
Find out what's happening in Ramseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
You may be shocked to learn that being labeled "BPA-Free", does not necessarily mean that the product does not release BPA and/or other substitute endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Those other chemicals are also used to strengthen plastics and may be just as harmful as BPA.
In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers investigated whether BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be leaching from teethers and toys that babies use to soothe their gums as their teeth are emerging.
The researchers evaluated 59 different teething toys purchased online in the U.S. and found that although most were labeled BPA-free or non-toxic, all contained BPA, along with a range of different parabens and antimicrobials such as triclosan, which is being banned later this year by the FDA. These chemicals were leaching out of the product.
As a result of studies demonstrating endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA trigger diseases in humans and animals, the European Union restricted their use in baby bottles.
The U.S. followed in 2012, restricting use in baby bottles and toddler sippy cups. However, few studies have evaluated teething toys used by infants and the potential for endocrine-disrupting chemicals leaching from these products. Common sense dictates that a baby will get much more BPA from a teether, as compared to a sippy cup.
The plastics industry has claimed the amount of chemicals used in infant and child products does not pose a health risk to children. Would you actually expect them to admit this blatant wrongdoing?
According to a lead researcher Kurunthachalam Kannan, Ph.D., who is a scientist at the New York State Department of Health, recent studies suggest that a mere billionth of a gram of BPA may be harmful to your child's health.