Recall baby bottles with BPA - watchdog

Toxic watchdog EcoWaste Coalition issued a call to President Benigno Aquino III to initiate the recall of baby feeding bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic substance.

The group said Aquino should take his cue from the European Union (EU) which prohibited the manufacture of baby bottles with BPA starting March 1, 2011.

EU member states are also directed under the European Commission Directive 2011/8/EU to prohibit starting June 1, 2011 the selling of BPA-added plastic materials and articles which can come into contact with foodstuffs.

“We call upon P-Noy to follow the EU example and waste no time in banning BPA-laced baby bottles from being produced and traded in the country,” said Velvet Roxas of Arugaan, a breastfeeding advocate and a Steering Committee member of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“P-Noy, just like the Europeans, can invoke the precautionary principle in justifying its tough action against BPA if only to protect helpless babies and toddlers from being exposed to this substance,” Roxas added.

Roxas also called for a more aggressive promotion of breastfeeding "to ensure infant access to breast milk, the most complete and ecological baby food."

The industrial chemical BPA is used in producing polycarbonate plastics, which, in turn, are used to make plastic products (with the label "PC" or number "7" at the bottom) such as infant feeding bottles, water bottles, and food containers.

According to EcoWaste Coalition, health experts and activists have pointed to the adverse effects of BPA, which can leach out of plastic products when heated.

"A known endocrine disruptor, BPA can imitate or interfere with natural hormone functions and potentially harm the development of young children," the group said in a statement.

The European Commission has said in a press release that “small amounts of BPA can be released from plastic containers into the food they carry–in the case of baby bottles that would be infant formula–if these containers are heated at high temperatures.”

“The infants' system is still building up to eliminate BPA during the first six months of their lives. Their exposure to the substance is the highest during this period especially if infant formula is their only source of nutrition as this is administered through baby bottles,” the EC said.

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