Fear over plastic in baby bottles
BABIES’ feeding bottles may release millions of microplastic particles into their milk every day, a study has found.
Scientists have found the process of sterilising bottles and making formula in them can cause tiny pieces of plastic to shed.
Certain containers can release up to 16.2million microplastic particles per day, even when international guidelines on making baby formula are followed.
The researchers said not enough is known about the consequences of microplastics on infant health – and urged parents not to be too worried.
But they said certain practices, like not shaking a bottle with formula in it, can help reduce the effect. In the study, which was published in the journal Nature Food, the team from Trinity College Dublin tested microplastic release in ten types of infant feeding bottles.
The baby bottles were either made of polypropylene or included polypropylene-based products, and represented the majority of those found in the global online market.
It was found that the microplastic release varied between 1.3 and 16.2million particles per litre among the bottles.
The team estimate that on average, infants are exposed to 1.6million microplastic particles per day during the first 12 months of life when using these polypropylene bottles. Exposure varied by region, with babies in Africa and Asia having the lowest potential exposure and infants in North America and Europe the highest.
Author Professor John Boland, from Trinity, said: ‘The last thing we want is to unduly alarm parents, particularly when we don’t have sufficient information on the potential consequences of microplastics on infant health. We are calling on policymakers, however, to reassess the current guidelines for formula preparation when using plastic infant feeding bottles.’
The researchers found that taking steps such as preparing hot water using a nonplastic kettle, not reheating formula in plastic containers, and not shaking a bottle with formula in it, can all help reduce the amount of microplastic released.