Plastic ... not so fantastic!

This is a question I am asked often. How safe is plastic? We live in a very plasticised environment, our children drink from plastic bottles, eat with and on plastic utensils, and most of the toys children play with today are made from bright, colourful plastics. It is the material of choice for most manufacturers, and for parents it is not always easy to avoid. By now most of you would have heard of Bisphenol A (BPA). It is a very common industrial chemical used in the production of numerous plastic products. It helps make plastics strong and shatterproof, resistant to temperature changes, acids and oils. Recent concerns about the safety of BPA are valid since laboratory testing found that BPA may affect reproduction and development in animals by mimicking the effects of the female hormone Oestrogen. BPA exposure has also been linked to various cancers of the tonsils, spleen, marrow, breast and lymph nodes. 

How to Limit your exposure to BPA:
Buy unpackaged, fresh, local fruit and vegies; Buy foods such as pureed tomatoes, olives, pickles, sauces etc in glass rather than cans or plastic; Don't buy prewrapped meats, cheeses etc from the supermarket or deli which are usually wrapped in PVC plastic. (Some plastic wraps designed for home use are actually polyethylene, not PVC. Polyethylene food wrap does not “cling” as well as PVC); Don't use the microwave to reheat or cook foods in plastic containers; Never use cling wrap in the microwave. “Microwave Safe” or a “Microwavable” label on a plastic container only means that it shouldn’t melt, crack or fall apart when used in the microwave. It doesn’t mean that it is food safe and is no guarantee that the containers don’t leach chemicals into foods when heated; Avoid storing food in plastic containers, especially hot food; Avoid all plastics labelled PC (Polycarbonate), No. 3 (PVC), 6 (polystyrene) or 7 (other plastics). The safest plastics for storing food or liquid in are labelled No. 4 (HDPE) or No. 5 Polypropylene or PP).

Fortunately there are many alternatives these days to the use of plastic, and though Australia has been slow to label plastics as containing BPA, it is not uncommon now to see this change in the market. Many of the children's food utensils and drink bottles are labelled as BPA free, though some are not! It used to be that if there was a 'recyclable sign' under the product is was fairly safe, but even this is mis-guided information. I think parents should simply be Plastic Aware. Certainly use products that are BPA free, but it is not always in the obvious products we are buying that it is a problem (as discussed above). Limit your children's overall exposure to these products by buying fresh produce, avoid eating from plastic dinnerware, and seriously consider the use of plastic toys for babies, which they suck, chew, bite and dribble on for months and years during their vital development.
Some excerpts from this blog were taken from Gwarehouse - BPA what is it?