What Plastic Bottles are Safe from Leaching Chemicals

With all the rumors and confusing information you hear about plastic bottles today (especially plastic water bottles) what are the facts and are any of them safe.

Well fortunately a great article on the subject can be found at Trusted MD a site that is respected and contains information that is known to be from reliable sources.

And while I think you should really read the whole article the basics of what was conveyed were as follows;

....Excerpt....

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it. Better to use a reusable water bottle, and fill it with your own filtered water from home and keep these single-use bottles out of the landfill.

........

It then goes on to discusses those bright Lexan plastic water bottles with the following information and warnings;

....Excerpt....

Unfortunately, those fabulous colourful hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach BPA. Bisphenol A is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children.

........

And then discusses plastic baby bottles with the following information and warnings;

....Excerpt....

Unfortunately, most plastic baby bottles and drinking cups are made with plastics containing Bisphenol A. In 2006 Europe banned all products made for children under age 3 containing BPA, and as of Dec. 2006 the city of San Franscisco followed suit. In March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was commenced against Gerber, Playtex, Evenflo, Avent, and Dr. Brown's in Los Angeles superior court for harm done to babies caused by drinking out of baby bottles and sippy cups containing BPA. So, to be certain that your baby is not exposed, use glass bottles.

........

So there you have it on this whole plastic bottle issue. I do think that it's terribly wrong that this danger isn't being resolved nor addressed by our Food and Drug Administration. We should be protected from such plastics and they should not be allowed to be used in food containers nor be allowed to come into contact with foods.

But the current FDA is more interested in allowing the plastics industries to continue unabated while Europe has taken strong measures outlawing all of the plastics in question.

The full article can be found here: Which plastic water bottles don't leach chemicals? | Trusted.MD Network