Feeding bottles may release microplastics when making formula
I n f a n t f e e d i n g b o t t l e s c o n - taining polypropylene may release microplastics during the standard preparation of formula, a study has suggested.
The research also indicated a strong relationship between heat and the release of microp l a s t i c s , s u c h t h a t wa r mer liquids result in far greater release.
R e s e a r c h e r s s a y a n n u a l production of polypropylene accounts for 20 p er cent of non-fibre plastic production and it is the most widely used plastic in food preparation.
However, they add little is k n ow n a b o u t mi c r o p l a s t i c release from these t yp es of containers.
S c i e n t i s t s t e s t e d m i c r o - plastic release in ten types of infant feeding bottles - representing the majority of the bottles found in the global online market - under World Health O rg a n i s a t i o n - r e c o mmen d -
ed sterilisation and formula preparation conditions.
T h e f e e d i n g b o t t l e s we r e either made of polypropylene or included p olypropylene - based accessories.
The study found that microplastic release varied between 1.3 million and 16.2 million particles per litre among the bottles.
It also found the bottles continued to release microplastics over a 21- day test period and microplastic release varied according to different factors, such as water temperature.
However, the scientists say there is not enough data on the consequences of micro - plastics on infant health and say they do not want to worry parents.
T h e r e s e a r c h e r s i nvo l ve d were from the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (Amber) , Trinityhaus and the sc ho ols of e ngineering and chemistr y at Trinit y College Dublin.
P r o f e s s o r J o h n B o l a n d , o f A mb e r, C R A N N a n d t h e s c h o o l o f c h e m i s t r y, s a i d : "When we saw these results in the lab we recognised immediately the potential impact they might have.
"The last thing we want is to unduly alarm parents, particularly when we don't have sufficient information on the p o t e n t i a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f microplastics on infant health.
"We are calling on policymakers to reassess the guidelines for formula preparation when using plastic infant feeding bottles.”