PP Bottle is Safe
By admin • Apr 18th, 2009 • Category: Product KnowledgePlastic baby bottles have received extra attention recently as research came to light showing many popular models leach Bisphenol-A (BPA), a suspected endocrine disruptor. While there’s little scientific data on the effects of BPA on humans, studies on animals suggest that it may not be safe, and have linked BPA to a range of cancers, early on-set puberty, obesity, and type-II diabetes.
Problems arise when the chemical leaches out of the bottle or container into the liquid or food that’s in contact with the plastic. If your baby drinks from one of these bottles — or consumes formula packaged in one of these cans — it’s possible that he’s also getting a dose of BPA. The amount of the chemical that leaches depends on the type of cans, the temperature used to sterilize the formula after the can is sealed, and the food itself.
Many parents hence believe that they should consider steps to reduce infants’ exposure to BPA when possible. When it comes to infants and small children, yes, it is always “better to be safe than sorry”.
Why using a PP Breastmilk Bottle?
The plastic of concern, polycarbonate (plastic #7), is used by several manufacturers for the baby bottles, but there are safer alternatives. While we recommend using glass bottles when possible, we realize that plastic is the most convenient option for many moms. All existing research maintains that polypropylene (PP or plastic #5) is safe and still the best and economical option for storing the mothers’ precious breastmilk. The PP plastic bottles are BPA-, phthalate-, and PVC-free.
While all of us and our children are regularly exposed to low levels of a myriad of chemicals, including BPA, there are some measures we can take to avoid at least some of these exposures. A good general principle is to avoid unnecessary exposures to chemicals in your food and water and to choose options that convey lower exposure whenever possible.
Tips and Guidelines
If you’re concerned about your baby’s exposure to BPA, his baby bottle or formula container is an important source to address. Here are some concrete things you can do that shouldn’t hurt and might help:
- Breastfeed your baby. This one step will avoid BPAs in both bottles and formula can liners.
- If you bottle-feed your baby, use glass baby bottles or those made from BPA-free plastic instead of polycarbonate bottles. If you’re using plastic, look for bottles labeled “BPA free” or buy bottles made of polypropylene, which are usually opaque or colored rather than clear. Polyethersulfone or PES, a high resilient thermoplastic polymer with low protein retention, is also increasingly available. It’s safe and meets all the stringent requirements of US FDA standard for baby feeding bottle application.
- Get rid of polycarbonate baby bottles and sippy cups that turn cloudy or are scratched or cracked. Worn bottles may leach BPA more easily.
- Don’t put polycarbonate bottles or sippy cups in the microwave. Some studies show that high heat can cause more leaching of the chemical. When necessary, warm the bottle or cup by placing it in a pan of hot water.
- Whichever type of bottle you use, be sure to carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions for preparing and heating the formula. Formula needs to be gently warmed, not boiled. (In addition to causing more leaching, hot formula can burn your baby’s mouth and cause nutrients in the formula to break down.)
- Use powdered rather than liquid formula. While both liquid and powdered formula cans contain BPA, powdered is a safer choice. The Environmental Working Group has calculated that babies fed reconstituted powdered formula probably receive eight to 20 times less BPA than those fed liquid formula from a metal can.
- When buying plastic bottles, look at the bottom of the containers. Avoid those labeled 7, as they may contain BPA. (Those labeled 3 may contain phthalates and those labeled 6 may contain styrene, so you’ll want to avoid those numbers, too.) Use only containers coded 1, 2, 4, or 5.
- Don’t put plastic dishware or containers in the microwave or dishwasher, and don’t wash them with harsh detergents. High heat and abrasive cleansers can damage the plastic, which will make it leach more.
The above information is researched and extracted from BabyCenter and Environmental Working Group websites.
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[...] but did not know they carry milk bottle lines. And it’s great coz it’s BPA Free. Read this to know more about why we should use BPA free bottles for [...]
i have bought bumble bee milk storage bottles, just wanna confirm that can it put in AVENT sterilizer ?
thanks
[Reply]
Hi Meili,
Thank you for asking.
PP temperature resistance is up to 120 degree Celsius, so we recommend you not to sterilize it using electric sterilizer. Follow the instructions on the packaging box, you may clean it using a baby safe liquid cleanser and then immerse it in hot water (remember, NOT boiling water) for 10-15 minutes after each use.
Hope this helps.
[Reply]
cammy Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Can you explained more about the differences between boil water and hot water. Thanks
[Reply]
admin Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Hi Cammy
boiling water – we are referring to water that could be still in the process of boiling and/or the temperature is at/above the water boiling point
hot water – we are referring to water with temperature that is considered hot for a normal person (but unsafe for consumption yet) but it is not at or above the boiling point of the water. For example, leave the boiled water cools down a while but still hot enough to clean the bottles.
hope this differentiation helps.
[Reply]
Hi,
Is it safe to feed breastmilk using these bottle? Currently i m using it as storage bottle, just wanna be sure whether it is safe for feeding as well…
Thanx..
[Reply]
admin Reply:
September 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Hi Alya,
yes, of course it is safe for feeding as well, as it is PP material which is BPA free. On the cleansing part, please refer to the cleaning method we have stated on the box. For better results, you may want to clean it with our Baby Safe Liquid Cleanser.
thanks for the enquiry.
[Reply]
Hi,
I just bought the bottles but I’m confused. It says that I have to use hot water to rinse and clean the bottles but does that mean that I don’t have to sterilize them? I have a steam sterilizer and am wondering if I can sterilize the bottles using steam….on the box it says to avoid boiling water, sterilizer tablets and high heat..so does it mean that I cannot sterilize them using stea, boiling or using sterilizing tablets?
hope you’ll reply soon. thanks.
zeti
[Reply]
admin Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Hi Zeti,
Thanks for your enquiry.
As widely recommended by many, PP material is actually encouraged to avoid boiling water, sterilizer tablets and high heat as stated on the box due to its composition, as compared to PC material which contains BPA that makes them more sustainable to heat & chemicals. But PP is BPA-free, so you don’t have to worry about the danger of BPA.
Nevertheless, there are also few grades of PP (harder in material for easier differentiation), which some of customers do sterilize using a steam sterilizer and find the PP products is totally Ok and has no “softening” feel. In fact, we do have some customers tried to sterilize on our PP breastmilk bottles, and so far they are fine with it. Perhaps you may want to check the sterilizing cycle of your sterilizer, try not to expose PP material to a sterilizing cycle that is too long.
For safer choice, we would however advise our customer to use Bumble Bee Baby Safe Liquid Cleanser (chemical free) to cleanse the PP bottles totally and follow the stated cleaning procedures. And these steps when followed properly are indeed enough to keep a bottle clean for usage. If you still would like to see how the bottle reacts with your sterilizer, you may try to sterilize one bottle and see how the bottle reacts yourself, and decide whether you want to continue doing so.
Do remember to replace the bottles every 6 months or when worn effects are shown, whichever is earlier.
Hope this helps.
[Reply]
Hi
I bought 2 boxes of the mentioned bottles for storage an wondering where can I buy teats that fit these bottles for direct feeding. I’ve bought few teats from different brand but none of it fit : ( Please reply the soonest. Thank you.
Regards
Emilly
[Reply]
admin Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Hi Emilly
what brands have you tried? it uses teats with standard necks, so it should be easily found in the market..
[Reply]
admin Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Hi Emily
we just tested with Pigeon, Pureen, Nuby and Puku standard teats, and they are working fine. You may try it if you wish.
[Reply]
hi,
if i want to pump my BM, do i need to wait for the bottle to be dry after rinse with hot water or i can just use the bottle after rinse (in wet condition)
[Reply]
admin Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Hi Rahmah,
yes, it is better to be dry…
[Reply]
hi, when is the right time for me to put my lil girl into baby walker?
[Reply]
admin Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
hi Rahmah,
It really depends on individual babies which time is best for them to start with baby walker, and we are not in the best position to advise you on this. Maybe you can search around (google it) and see if there is any guidance available online? Or, you can also consult your baby’s pediatrician. Check out this site, a guide link, see if this helps you?
[Reply]
May I know where your bedding coordinates are from? China or Malaysia?
[Reply]
admin Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Hi Janice,
our bedding coordinates are all locally made in Malaysia.
[Reply]
Hi, I would like to know what the differences between Polycarbonate Bottle (PC) and Polyproplyene (PP) Bottle.
[Reply]
admin Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Hi Chong,
the main difference between PC and PP is: PC contains BPA, but PP is BPA-free. That means PP bottle is a safer bottle to use than PC bottle, because PP won’t release BPA which is not good for the human body.
Hope this helps.
[Reply]
Hi,
1. I just want to confirm again if we shouldn’t sterilize these bottles in sterilizer because the salesgirl that i approached told me we can sterilize these bottles.
2. Can these bottles be fit with Avent pump, Medela pump, Ameda pump and Spectra pump?
[Reply]
admin Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:29 am
Hi Winnie
thanks for your inquiry.
1. PP material can sustained heat up to 120°C, it is quite near to the normal sterilising point, that’s why in practice we do not recommend it to be sterilised. It is not like the hard PC plastic which can sustain higher degrees. However, you can just follow the instructions on the packaging box, you may clean it using a baby safe liquid cleanser and then immerse it in hot water (NOT boiling water) for 10-15 minutes after each use. These steps are sufficient to keep the bottles clean.
2. Our PP bottle is standard neck, so can fit into all breast pumps that are using standard neck size, such as Medela and Spectra. Avent is wideneck, so we couldn’t fit in that one. As long as it is a standard neck breast pump, our bottle will be able to fit in.
Hope this helps.
[Reply]
Do u have 8 oz bottle – standard neck? so far I’ve found only 5 oz for standard neck.
[Reply]
admin Reply:
June 11th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Hi Sara
we only have 5oz one at the moment.. sorry about that.
[Reply]