Which Baby Bottles Are The Safest?

Fiona Keane asks:

A few months ago, as I prepared for my second baby's arrival, I had concerns about toxic chemicals leaching from plastic bottles into milk, and looked for tempered glass bottles instead. I searched every baby store in Las Vegas, but my only option was to call and mail-order bottles from Evenflo, the manufacturer. Are there any more sources for glass or other safer materials available to parents?

Fiona Keane
Las Vegas, NV

The Green Guide replies:

Dear Fiona,

It's wise of you to have laid in a fresh supply of bottles for your new baby, as older glass bottles can have cracks and chips, and plastic bottles can develop scratches in which bacteria can grow, contaminating formula or breast milk. Bottles should be examined periodically for wear and tear and discarded when it appears.

There are other less-toxic options available, both in plastic and glass baby bottles. #5 plastics are among the most recyclable and have not been found to leach potential hormone disruptors. Clear plastic, rigid baby bottles are likely to be made of #7 polycarbonate, which can leach bisphenol-A, a suspected hormone disruptor.

Tempered glass bottles do not leach any chemicals; they are made by Lamby as well as Evenflo. See our list below for product names and sources.

When storing and freezing breast milk, avoid #3 PVC plastic containers, which can leach phthalates and adipates, linked to reproductive harm and liver cancers in mice. Look for 8-oz., wide-mouth glass canning jars, which won't crack when heated or chilled. Also, polyethylene bags have not been found to leach toxic chemicals.

Nipples made of #3 PVC should also be avoided. Clear silicone bottle nipples and pacifiers are safer than plastic or latex ones, according to pediatricians Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. and Herbert L. Needleman, M.D. and Mary Landrigan, M.P.A., in Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World (Rodale, 2001, $12.95; see review in The Green Guide's online bookstore.)

Baby Bottles (#5 Plastic)

Rubbermaid Chuggables Bottles

Rubbermaid Sippin' Sport Bottles

Evenflo Colored Baby Bottles

Evenflo Baby Bottles (opaque, pastel)

Gerber Baby Bottles (colors)

Medela Baby Bottles

Baby Bottles (Glass)

Lamby Glass Baby Bottles

Evenflo Glass Baby Bottles

Resources

Baby SuperMall, 888/276-6654 www.babysupermall.com

Kitchen Etc., 800/232-4070 www.kitchenetc.com

Medela, 800/435-8316 www.medela.com>medela.com

The Natural Baby Catalog, 888/550-2461 www.kidsstuff.com