Plastics and the Safety of Your Food

(Article published in HWW Nov 2008)

by Dr. Hatalie Langston-Davis, MD, MPH

Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates are chemicals in the hard plastics in cans and bottles used to store food, and they may be very bad for your health. Here are things that you can do to decrease your children and family’s contact with these two potentially harmful chemicals.

• Use glass bottles as food containers

• Do not heat beverages or foods in hard-plastic containers (high temperature can cause plastic to break down and chemicals to leak into food).

• Do not clean plastics in the dishwasher

• Purchase fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned foods.

• Use powdered formulas instead of ready-to-feed formula.

• Avoid plastics with the numbers 3, 6 or 7 printed on the bottom (codes used to show the type of plastic used).

• Purchase baby bottles and sippy-cups that say “BPA-free.”

Natalie Langston-Davis, MD, MPH is a board-certified pediatrician and an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center.