Your Plastic Food & Water Containers are TOXIC

[Guest guest]

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Your Plastic Food & Water Containers are TOXIC

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's largest outdoor-goods chain has pulled

water bottles and food containers made of polycarbonate plastic from

its shelves over worries about the chemical bisphenol A, which has

been linked to cancer and reproductive problems in animals.

 

 

 

Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op became the first major

Canadian retailer to stop selling products that contain bisphenol A

over fears the chemical can leach from plastic food and water

containers.

 

"Inconclusive science and regulatory uncertainty presently surrounds

bisphenol-A (BPA)," the company said in a statement.

 

"For these reasons, MEC has stopped selling polycarbonate water

bottles and food containers until guidance is provided by the

Government of Canada on the health risks posed by BPA."

 

The Canadian co-operative joins U.S.-based Patagonia in dropping the

products because of health concerns.

 

The chemical, which can mimic the effects of the hormone estrogen in

cells, has been surrounded by controversy. Some North American

researchers and environmentalists have shown it can cause several

types of cancer as well as developmental, neural, behavioral and

reproductive harm in animals.

 

Industry says the products are not dangerous, citing studies from

government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

that food and beverage containers manufactured from polycarbonate do

not pose a health risk to humans.

 

"Rarely has a chemical been the subject of such intense scientific

testing and scrutiny, and still, important agencies across the globe

agree that there is no danger posed to humans from polycarbonate

bottles," said Tom Cummins, spokesman for Nalgene and Nunc Brand

Products, which manufacturers the popular Nalgene polycarbonate

water bottles.

 

Besides hard-plastic water bottles, bisphenol A is also used in some

baby bottles and the linings of some food cans, including most major

brands of infant formula, according to a study co-released this week

by Environmental Defence Canada and the Washington-based

Environmental Working Group.

 

"We have study after study showing that this chemical is toxic,...

and there are safe and available alternatives that are affordable,"

said Aaron Freeman, policy director of Environmental Defence Canada.

 

Canada's health department declined to comment before it releases

preliminary results of a review of the chemical's effects next

spring.

 

"We are looking at as much research as we can to make a very science-

based assessment," said Joey Rathwell, a spokeswoman for Health

Canada.

 

Norway and the European Union are also reviewing the product.

Japanese manufacturers decided voluntarily to stop making products

using polycarbonate plastic five to six years ago.

 

(Reporting by Claire Sibonney; editing by Janet Guttsman)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

" Most clear plastic bottles seem to be safe, especially those labeled

1, 2, and 4. " Be wary of big 5 gallon bottles, #7 which leach BPA. " #1

PET or PETE bottles may leach DEHA, a known carcinogen, if used more

than once. " Never re-use plastic bottles! Washing them to sanitize

them " leaches harmful chemicals out of the plastic. "

 

Source: Holistic Pediatrics for Parents, by Randall Neustaedter OMD