If you’re not yet hooked on Z Recommends, run, don’t walk, and start reading - you may never stop. A true hands-on product testing site in true family fashion, husband and wife team Jeremiah and Jennifer McNichols, along with their daughter Z, tirelessly test, review, group, recommend (and don’t recommend), and share the newest, safest, and most innovative kid-friendly products on the market.
One ongoing and rigorous testing the Z Recs family should be particularly proud of is their comprehensive BPA report on a broad range of infant and child feeding products, from 42 companies whose products are available in the US. If you have not been on the BPA radar, here’s a quick tutorial: cans and plastic bottles contain the chemical compound called bisphenol-A (BPA). Recent findings have found that BPA can leak out of these linings into food, milk, or other liquids, right into babies and children’s mouths and bodies. BPA consumption has been linked to infertility, cancer, and disorders in children such as hyperactivity. The reaction to the bottle and feeding industry is to remove BPA from baby products, ensuring safety and security.
The Z Recs report is an amazingly thorough and well organized article. Organized in a readable directory format, the listings cover all bottles, cups, breast pumps, pacifiers, utensils, and tableware for a huge variety of brands. Z Recs has gone way beyond simply reading labels - they have questioned company representatives on company practices and commitments to getting BPA out of their products (and your children’s) mouth. Companies are assessed by overall product quality and their “commitment to avoiding the use of Bisphenol-A in their products, incorporating reviews and company profiles” Personally, I wish this was available five and even three years ago when my girls were infants and there were so many fewer healthy choices for bottles, nursing, and feeding. I feel better knowing, however, that this information can be passed on to new moms and dads looking to safeguard the littlest ones in their homes.
Tell us what you think of the Z Recs report! I was particularly surprised to see a company I used with both my kids, Avent, for pacifiers, that ranks “Poor” on the list. It goes to show you that pretty packaging and a seemingly high-quality product may not be as advanced as you think. What’s your favorite baby feeding, or nursing product, and where does it rank on the list? Most important, will you make a necessary switch?
Photo courtesy of Z Recs
Comments
Interesting. The Z Recs people are a bit different from other places I have read in that they let you know if the product contains any BPA, not just if the BPA containing part touches the food. I use playtex drop-ins. The bottle contains BPA, but the drop in, which holds the liquid, is BPA-free. According to their chart, this is “poor”.
I LOVE Z recommends…
I, too, use Playtex drop-in bottles. I decided not to switch mostly b/c the drop in part themselves don’t contain BPA. Also though, my daughter is 11 months old (she was probably about 9.5 months old when I made this decision) and we’ll be done with bottles shortly, plus she only gets 2 bottles a day (the rest of the day I’m with her and can breastfeed).
I really really need to get rid of all my bad tupperware though and I’m having a terrible time ….
I just had a moment when I unpacked my groceries. Do food products come packaged in containers with BPA? For instance, Hellman’s mayo in a plastic jar. The plastic is clear, but its kind of bendy. I think its BPA free, but a mom can go crazy with this stuff.
Although I breastfed, we also used Avent brand bottles when my daughter was little (10 years ago). Now I’m adopting and learned that Avent has BPA, so I purchased the Born Free brand bottles, which do not have BPA. I probably won’t be able to nurse this time around, and was dismayed to learn that Earth’s Best organic infant formula has BPA in the plastic lining their cans. I contacted the company and they replied that BPA is safe. Yeah, right…… Actually, many canned foods also have a plastic lining containing BPA. My favorite pizza/pasta sauce from Eden for one. I’m going to switch to exclusively fresh/frozen produce and only buy canned food that comes in glass jars. Plus grow & can my own tomatoes! That, and encourage everyone to write these companies and ask them to stop using BPA in their packaging!
Thanks for this post - great info! We’re proud to be a Sigg and Born Free family. My wife used to have a Klean Kanteen, but left it behind at a workout class. Again, thanks for the tips and info.
Under Gerber, Z says the glass jars of babyfood have BPA in the lining of the jar lid…so does that mean most glass food jars have this in seal? They don’t mention about Heinz a major baby food distributor.
Info re BPA has been out for years. DEHP, ABS are others. Once a material has been determined to be useable, sufficiently hard,soft,stable, taste or odor free it’s used regardless of leaching or gassing out. Medical tubing, I.V. bags and housing for sleep apnea machines are examples of this.
[…] and pacifiers is still a hot topic in the news and with consumers. Thankfully, there’s a ton of information available now to help parents make informed decisions about how to safely feed their babies and […]
