No ban in Singapore as plastic baby bottles are safe: AVA

Lee Hui Chieh and Esther Tan, Straits Times 24 Apr 08;

ALL plastic bottles sold here are safe and no stores have been asked to stop selling them, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said yesterday.

The announcement came after Toys 'R' Us voluntarily pulled plastic baby bottles from its shelves on Tuesday, in response to concerns that they might leach a potentially toxic chemical. A Toys 'R' Us spokesman here declined to comment on the decision.

However, it comes amid growing global worry over the safety of drink and food containers made from polycarbonate - a hard transparent plastic - which is produced using a chemical called bisphenol A or BPA.

A report by the United States National Institutes of Health, released a week ago, expressed concerns that BPA could affect brain development in infants and increase their risk of developing breast and prostate cancer later in life.

But tests conducted early this year by the AVA showed that the levels of BPA in baby bottles were within safe limits.

It also cited a 2006 European Union review which concluded that the average BPA levels taken in by adults and children did not pose a threat to their health.

Other local retailers, such as NTUC FairPrice and Mothercare, said they had no plans to pull the bottles.

The AVA suggested that worried parents minimise their infants' exposure to BPA by using lukewarm, rather than boiling, liquids. The bottles should be sterilised according to instructions on infant formula labels and allowed to cool before the milk is poured into them.

Parents can also switch to using glass bottles.