Still plasticizers in children's products

2023-04-27 07:05:13

“We examined teething toys, blankets, cans, bibs, shoes, sunglasses, tights and drinking bottles. Of 86 products, only 28 were free of them,” reported the Association for Consumer Information (VKI). Baby bibs performed best. In the case of beverage and food cans, no product was uncontaminated.

First of all: All products corresponded to the legal regulations. Of the bibs, ten out of twelve received a top rating. In the case of teething toys, on the other hand, according to the experts, “only four of the nine products were OK”. The baby shoes in the test were all “highly stressed”. However, manufacturers are already working on bisphenol-free tanning.

Promises often don’t keep

Some of the children’s toys, drinking bottles and drinking cups were offered as “BPA-free”, but the promise did not hold: “For example, BPA is released from the teething toy from dm babylove. With the Börja children’s cup, Ikea points out that the plastic used is harmless. However, we found high levels of BPM (one of the BPA “alternatives”, note) in the mouthpiece, criticizing the consumer advocates who are demanding independent certification in beverage cans with soft drinks.

“At least the individual product should not pose an acute health risk. In everyday life, however, we are confronted with many products that contain or release hormonally active substances. The use of several products leads to the so-called cocktail effect with unforeseeable health risks,” warns the VKI. “For this reason, we believe that chemicals such as bisphenols have no place in consumer products.” The legal provisions are “insufficient” and, as the test also shows, manufacturers can also rely on products that contain no or only very small amounts of bisphenols.

Bisphenol A (BPA) was invented around 120 years ago

Bisphenol A (BPA) was invented around 120 years ago and is found in countless consumer goods, especially in many plastic products, but also in coatings for food and beverage cans. “It has been known since the 1930s that BPA has a similar effect to estrogen. Since then, the industry has been trying to allay safety concerns,” criticizes the VKI. “However, in the late 1990s, studies on animals showed that BPA has adverse health effects even at low doses, including an effect on the development of organisms.” The chemical also increases the risk of breast and prostate cancer, obesity, metabolic disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Recently, BPA has increasingly been replaced by bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF), and sometimes also bisphenol M (BPM). But the substitutes have some similar effects, according to the VKI.

Especially problematic for babies and small children

According to consumer advocates, bisphenols are particularly problematic for babies and small children. Therefore, the focus of the participating organizations from Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Slovenia and the Czech Republic was primarily on children’s products or products that are preferred by children. A total of 179 consumer goods were analyzed, 86 were available in Austria at the time of the test in January.

A few precautionary measures could minimize the absorption of harmful substances: “Wash textiles before use. Consume as little food as possible from cans. Fill up drinking bottles and cups regularly and do not drink water that has been in the bottle for days. Give small children only use products that are intended to be put in their mouths,” advises the VKI.

At the EU level, there have recently been very divergent assessments of the health risks posed by the chemical: while the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wants to drastically limit BPA after a reassessment, the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) does not see a risk as scientifically proven. Last week, the EFSA lowered the “safe limit” TDI for BPA by a factor of 20,000 to 0.2 nanograms (0.2 billionths per gram) per kilogram of body weight and day.