Bisphenol A has been found in baby pacifiers produced by three major European brands. Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical used in the production of plastics and has been linked to poor sexual development, obesity and cancer.
The laboratory tests were conducted by the Czech consumer protection organization “dTest”, and the results were published on their website, and the British newspaper The Guardian wrote about them on October 18.
One company reported that it conducted subsequent tests and did not find any bisphenol A, while another company stated that the amount found was small.
The composition of Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, is similar to the female hormone estrogen found in the bodies of humans and other animals.
“The health effects of BPA are wide-ranging: breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometriosis, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, immune system disorders, and effects on reproduction, brain development and behaviour, including that of children,” said Chloe Topping, a campaigner at the Chem Trust, a charity that works to protect humans and wildlife from harmful chemicals.
Chloe added that children are particularly at risk “because they are still developing, and their organs are very sensitive to the disorder.”
What happens in the baby’s mouth?
Exposure to BPA at an early age or in utero is associated with lower sperm count and early puberty.
“The problem with endocrine disrupting chemicals is that they can act at very low concentrations,” Chloe explained.
The researchers purchased 19 baby pacifiers from stores in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary, and two from an online market.
To simulate conditions inside an infant’s mouth, they placed each pacifier in an artificial saliva solution for 30 minutes at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The resulting extract was analyzed to determine the bisphenol content.
The presence of BPA was detected in 4 pacifiers, and the highest concentration was 19 micrograms per kilogram, breaching the 10 microgram limit for BPA transfer from infant pacifiers set by the European Union.
“Pacifiers are often one of the first products parents buy, and they don’t expect to expose their babies to hormone-disrupting chemicals from day one,” said Hanna Hofmanova, editor-in-chief of dTest magazine.
European Union law has completely banned the use of BPA in baby bottles since 2011, and the scope of these rules was expanded in 2018 to include the production of food containers and bottles for children under three years of age.