Sorry for my short absence from the blog world! We've been enjoying a visit from our out of town (out of state!) family and have been insanely busy. I'll be back soon! But as just a quick note:
Remember a few weeks ago when the news headlines contained a story about the safety of plastic baby bottles? Apparently many of them are made out of the "bad" kind of plastic. Meaning that the stuff that goes into the plastic can make its way into your baby's milk over time - which is not good.
Well, this past weekend I happened to look on the bottom of the Gerber Food container I was feeding our son from (They've recently switched over to plastic tubs instead of glass jars). Guess what number is on the bottom?? a SEVEN! Seven is probably the worst kind of plastic you can use. It's the scary plastic that made headlines with those bad baby bottles a few weeks ago. I am absolutely appalled that Gerber would use number 7 plastic containers for baby food. Even sour cream comes in a FIVE! (5 is the good kind).
Here's what one article had to say about plastic number 7:
"7 Other (usually polycarbonate)Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans
BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages."
I'm not sure about proper bloggy etiquette for giving credit, but I found this article HERE. Please click the link for the rest of the article. I hope this is helpful for anyone out there using Gerber baby food. I just wanted to make you aware of the risk that may be associated with their containers. And hey Gerber - can you please go back to glass jars or at least put our children's food in containers that are at least as safe as sour cream tubs?
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10 comments:
It would be less worrisome to use glass jar baby food!!! Who knew? But the baby food when you were a baby was all in glass jars, so I didn't have to worry about it!
I miss glass jars too! Plastic may be more economical, but obviously, not safer. Have you read up on making your own baby food? I used to work with a girl who made her own... froze it in ice cube trays... then popped out the little cubes for storage in a ziploc bag. I never did it, but thought it was a really cool idea.
I have seen this circulating...it's pretty crazy!
Gerber baby food containers are labeled #7 “other” but are NOT polycarbonate (the clear HARD plastic which contains BPA).
#7 Plastic = Other. Use of this code indicates that a package is made with a resin other than the #1 thru #6, or is made of more than one resin and used in a multi-layer combination.
According to Gerber, their plastic is an overlay of polypropylene (inside) and polystyrene (outside). Polypropylene is considered safe!
Dear Anonymous. Thank you for comment. I actually never trust the company using the questionable product. In my experience most companies are eager to use the cheapest LEGAL materials they can get their hands on. According to most other sources that I've found, #7 (Other) Plastics DO contain BPA. Now, as you said, its possible not all #7 plastics contain this substance, but how can you ever be truly sure? That's why I feed our son from glass jars (preferable Earth's Best) or make our own food. Also, Canada is in the process of legally banning BPA. I know I could be completely wrong, but I'd wager that in realty NO plastic is completely safe, regardless of their "number", and since we're talking about our children here I'm encouraging other mom's to be cautious. Here's the link to the Canadian article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/17/bisphenola-stores.html
Also just google it - you'll be amazed at the amount of information that comes up.
In researching the Gerber containers, I came across this: http://safemama.com/2008/02/26/gerber-baby-food-and-number-7-plastics/
Thought you might be interested.
Dear anonymous commentor #2 (not sure if you are the same commentor from before!) Thanks for this info! I'll say it again though - I may be wrong, but I'm still not using #7 baby food containers anymore. I very well may be paranoid (in fact I'm extremely protective, I'll probably drive my son crazy when he's a teenager) but I just can't shake the nagging feeling that it isn't safe. And I'm certainly no expert, but have any significant studies been done on plastics in general? Do we KNOW for a fact that they don't cause cancer, or other problems after long term use or exposure? Maybe there are some people who have a sensitivity to certain plastics that causes severe problems that haven't been studied. Who knows...I'm just trying to raise my son and any others that God blesses me with as naturally as I can on a very tight budget. That said - Earth's Best Baby Food is only SLIGHTLY more expensive than the two pack Gerber Organics Baby Food that comes in the plastic #7's. So I figure, why not play it safe? I really do appreciate the article though! It is interesting and comforting to know that there might not be a problem there - however I'll say this again too - I DO NOT TRUST big companies. Why? Because I've worked for them before and they will not hesitate to lie and cover their bums when it comes to making an extra dollar. I do hope however that Gerber is not one of those companies, and I will continue to purchase their other products as I need them. Thanks for that article!
Hey all it's not just the plastic baby purees that have a #7. The fruit and veggie puffs are also labeled with a #7.
Just a hint...Tupperware doesn't contain BPA so no carcinagines to worry about there, especially in the microwave. Check it out!!
just an fyi. baby food in containers may contain a bit of bpa as well because the lids of the jars (including Earths Best) are lined with bpa. you would think that with all this concern about bpa, companies should rethink their packaging for all the baby products including formula and baby food. i've read somewhere that even breastmilk may contain traces of bpa since a lot of what we eat (canned items) contain bpa. so sad and frustrating that it's difficult to escape this toxic reality http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4414.cfm
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