The Soft Landing Blog

Thanks so much! Your site is the gold standard for information on safe products for baby. It's where I go first to check on what to buy for my own child.

My son has used the nuk classic latex for three years now and I have tried to get him to switch to silcone for years. Being a mom and trying to do the right thing is hard. Thanks for your good reporting and updates.

Were the Nuk Fashion paci's always listed as MAY contain BPA? I switched to NUK, and bought "fashion colors" just because that was the only style in size 2. This is SO frustrating...nothing is safe...

Hi Lauren,

No, the NUK Fashion pacifiers were not always listed as containing BPA. The whole Gerber pacifier issue became very unclear with our most recent research.

Thanks a lot for this important information on BPA free pacifiers. I've used NUK Fashion since it was on the BPA free list before but now I will replace it..

Not sure where to ask this, but are there any flexible baby bottles that you can squeeze that don't contain Bisphenol-a free. I have to have a squeezable bottle for my baby and unfortunately must use a specific nipple, a pigeon nipple made in Japan, because my little one has a cleft lip and palate. Are there any options for us?

I just got off the phone w/Gerber, as I too had changed to Nuk after being concerned about PBA. The woman looked at her computer, and said the fashion nuk's could be either PP or PC. I questioned this, and she spoke to a supervisor who said their info is a mistake and that the button Nuk has BPA, but all of the original nuk's including the fashion series are PBA free?! I had called another customer service representative last night, who also assured me that my particular fashion nuk's are fine.... Maybe some more questioning is needed? Thanks for a great site.. I have been doing a lot of research lately..

Hi Me2wired,

I think your best bet would be a bottle made from polyethylene. It's a very flexible BPA free plastic used in Mother's Milkmate, Medela and Evenflo breastmilk storage bottles.

You've definitely peaked my interest in finding a bottle that would fill the specialized feeding needs of babies with a cleft lip/palate! I'll be working on this and will let you know if I come across better options.

Alicia

This BPA thing is so confusing and frustrating. It took a bit of convincing but we finally got my daughter to switch from the Avent pacifier to the Gerber Nuk (thinking it's safe)......but now I'm unsure if the one that Nuk she's using is BPA-free. It's the silicone orthodontic one in pastel colours (I threw the packaging away already, so I'm unclear as to which one it is). Would you, could you clarify if that's a BPA-free one? Thanks. BTW: I love your site!

Just wanted to say how awesome this site is. I rely on for many baby safe purchases. It's great to find a site with like minded mamas!

Hi,

From your quote in this article:
"We were disappointed to receive a list of pacifiers that is completely different from the list we were first given about six months ago."

Doesn't this sentence explicitly mean that Gerber CANNOT be trusted to provide correct information on BPA (or PVC or phthalates for that matter). Why are you applauding them for saying their teethers are BPA free and their products are phthalate free, when that information is suspect as well?? For example, the word "fragrance" listed on anything as an ingredient more often than not means phthalates are included, though a company might just think that if no specific phthalates are mentioned as an ingredient, everything is OK

People should email/write/call Gerber, and tell them their blase attitude toward BPA and other possible endocrine-disruptor chemicals (parabens, pthalates) will not be tolerated. If their list of BPA-free products is suspect, then all info they give out is suspect. There are more and more companies committed to clear-cut BPA free products (Born Free, etc.) so consumers have choices and should exercise them. I am never buying a Gerber product, period.

This corporate deception extends to food products as well. Many companies, even some health food companies often "bend" the truth about ingredients on the label. For example, "natural flavors" as an ingredient can essentially include sugar, and ingredients that make up less than a certain percentage of a food don't need to be listed.

People need to make their voices heard by companies through communications and through their wallets!

By the way, this site is OUTSTANDING, and I am purchasing ALL or at least the vast majority of my baby feeding products through SOft Landing. Thanks for all your work!

Hi John,

Thank you for your comment. We appreciate your sentiments, as we were not thrilled to find that we had been given an incorrect list. We thought long and hard about whether to go ahead with the post about Gerber pacifiers. We came to the conclusion that it really is necessary to provide as much information as possible to parents. What we’re hoping to do is to shed light on the subject and let parents make their own informed decisions. We wish it were as simple as not buying any Gerber products. For some parents, taking their child's pacifier and replacing it with an unfamiliar one is daunting and sometimes impossible. This is why we've chosen to share the Gerber pacifier info with our readers. We get to be on the other end of the phone calls from parents who have replaced the pacifier and now have a sleepless, stressed out baby.

Like it or not, we’re stuck having to take the company’s word for it, because they are not required to list materials on their products. We’re taking the word of every company out there right now.

We applaud your call to parents encouragin them to contact Gerber, making them aware that we're tired of the misinformation and use of toxic chemicals in our children's products is unacceptable.

And thank you so much for the compliment on our website. We really are trying to make life a little easier.

Sincerely,

Alicia

P.S. We do feel comfortable making the recommendation for Gerber teethers in particular. We've done in-depth research on EVA and it happens to be a material that doesn't require the addition of plasticizers, so the risk of finding BPA or phthalates in the EVA Gerber teethers is really slim.

Does anyone from the Soft Landing have an answer for Tina (above on March 31st)? I have the exact same question... not sure if my pale green & yellow and light blue & purple NUK pacifiers are "fashion" or not. I did run out and switch to Natursutten to be on the safe side, but I have a hard time believing that a certain pacifier would be dangerous simply because it's made in a slightly different COLOR! I would rather keep using them now that they've been bought and I don't want to just throw them into a landfill, unless I'm SURE. Thanks!

Hi Tina and Chloe,

We'll definitely be doing more follow-up questing on the Fashion line of NUK pacifiers.

We've now made three calls to Gerber and received the same answer three times in a row. Which is, "Some Fashion NUK's may contain PC (polycarbonate), or they may be made from PP (polypropylene)."

Each time, we were given a list PC Fashion paci's, they were the silicone nipple style. Each time we were given a list of PP Fashion paci's, they were the latex nipple style.

We have no idea why Gerber has chosen to use PC in some of their Fashion NUK's and not in others. You'll just have to use your own discretion in deciding whether you want to take a chance or not.

I'm sorry we can't be more clear at this time,

Alicia

For anyone trying to figure out whether their pacifiers are of the "fashion" variety, the following sites show examples from this line.

http://www.babygearbuyer.com/b/nuk/index.html
http://www.baby-wise.com/pacifiers-pall-sort-2a...

I hope this helps.

Does anyone know if Gerber's Suzy Zoo silicone pacifiers are safe? Are they considered the fashion ones? Very confused as to what's safe now. Thanks!!

FYI: I have put in a few more calls to Gerber about this issue w/the fashion nuks, as I am confused about why certain colors would have different materals in them. I spoke to a representative this weekend, and she told me she'd call me back today, after speaking w/someone from the Gerber Help Desk. She called me today and assured me that the silicon fashion nuks are all BPA free. She said they had an error on their computer screen, which indicated it was either PP or PC but she checked into it, and the silicon fashion colors are indeed PP. I have become a little obsessive about this issue, as I had just switched to this from MAM for this reason.. She said she was sure it was made of only PP and that it had no BPA in any of its parts including the shield and handle... hopefully it's true! thanks again for a great site.

I called gerber today as well and was told the same thing - button nuks that are clear contain BPA, regular and fashion nuks are PP and as long as not clear, do NOT contain BPA. Even if I've been using the "wrong" bottles (and will now switch), at least I have been using the "right" pacifiers! Your site is a godsend. thank you!!!

The only pacifiers I found (that I thought were safe but not so sure anymore) after getting rid of the AVENT one are NUK+ orthodontic pacifier and Parent's Choice Soft Shield silicone pacifier. Does anyone know if these are BPA free? I called Gerber re. Nuk+ and they said they are not #7 but I want them BPA free 100%. What about the Paren's Choice one? I don't really know much about this and I just want my baby to be safe. Please help. Thank you.

Sandy,

Thank you for bringing up the Parent's Choice brand. That's Walmart's private label for Nuby products, so the pacifiers do currently contain BPA.

Alicia

Thank you so much for the quick response. I am going to return it.

I just replaced the Avante pacifiers with the gerber NUK+ orthodontic pacifier. are these 100% BPA free?

Michele, I have the same question and I hope someone will let us know soon...

My son has used the Avent (clear silicone) pacifiers for 2 years and won't accept anything else. Are these known to contain BPA? He uses them constantly (for sleeping) and now I am afraid he has been exposed to a great deal of toxic chemicals.

Hi, I have a Suzy's Zoo pacifier for my son and am wondering if anyone knows if it contains BPA. Thanks in advance for any info.

Michele and Sandy, I'm also wondering about the Gerber Nuk Orthodontic silicone pacifiers. The ones I recently bought have the words "classic style" in small lettering under the main name. I'm waiting to open the package until i know whether they are safe. I will return them if not or if no one is sure.

Another mom who had used Avent pacifiers said Playtex Binky Most Like Mommy in silicone went over well with her baby, but I didn't see those when I went shopping today.

I just got an email back from gerber saying the NUK Fashion silicone are BPA free, made of PP.. I will forward the email to you..

Tina,

Thanks for the info. We have a call into Gerber again (sigh). We'll see what they tell us this time . . .

Alicia

hello, i just called Gerber as i was confused about the "fashion" line having been unable to find the "classic" or "original" styles.

i purchased the silicone fashion nuks (upc=1500062642).

Gerber told me these were polypropylene.

i also bought a pkg of Suzy Zoo. Apparently the handle of these is polycarbonate.

also...a mom was asking about switching her baby from Avent to another brand...my 3mo old was using the Avent pacifiers until today. As i mentioned in my earlier msg I just picked up these Gerber Nuk Fashion pacifiers this afternoon. I've just sterilized them and given her one and she seems to have made a seamless transition from Avent to Nuk.

ok I am seriously frustrated, my son was using a gerber bottle that is bpa free and they still took it off the market, he was also using a gerber pacifier and I hat trouble switching him over to another gerber kind, so ya i do that and then they take those off the market too, the money I am spending is getting rediculous. What pacifiers are safe? None of them?

Am wondering if anyone has any info on the Gerber Massaging Manual Breastpump? It is not on the recall list that i can see, but the bottles that come with the pump have been recalled.

I use the Gerber soft-tipped spoons to feed my daughter. Do you know if these are safe? Thank you for your website.

The pacifiers are very confusing to me....
some are/some aren't BPA free, and in the stores and on the compaby packaging they are not labeled very well, like with the different technical names of the pacifiers and thier lines, they all look about the same, even though some are bpa free, and some aren't. No brand seems to label BPA free on the package for you to be 100% sure either. So then I give up,lol.

You guys are right this is so frustarating. My daughter loves the Gerber soft centre round pacifier. She has been using it since about 6 weeks and still is at 1 year. Even more so cause she is teething, which means that she is chewing through them. They are discontinued and you have to pay an arm and a leg for them but I have found some. Are they safe, a few places have said Yes and some maybe's????

Hi Gordana,

We've talked with Gerber four times now and received a different answer each time on those particular pacifiers.

If your baby wasn't already using that pacifier (and most likely very attached to it), I would not recommend introducing it.

The truth of the matter is that sometimes you have to take a step back and evaluate what your priorities are. BPA is usually found in the handle (and in small amounts), so if the baby isn't chewing on the handle and it will be traumatic to switch to a different pacifier, then by all means don't.

Hope that helps,

Alicia

Hi Gail,

You're right about the naming and labeling issue. Manufacturers are not required to label anything (not even with recycling codes). And so often they name their pacifiers differently, while they may only vary in color. But that's where the BPA comes in many times.

As I mentioned in my last comment, sometimes it's better to take a good hard look at the big picture:

"The truth of the matter is that sometimes you have to take a step back and evaluate what your priorities are. BPA is usually found in the handle (and in small amounts), so if the baby isn’t chewing on the handle and it will be traumatic to switch to a different pacifier, then by all means don’t."

Best,

Alicia

Hi.. did anybody answer Jenny (from back in april) who asked about the safety of Gerber’s Suzy Zoo silicone pacifiers? I have a couple of them that I am using and I've been told that they have been recalled but I can find no evidence online to support this claim... any suggestions?? Are the Suzy Zoo part of the fashion line?? Thanks :)

Hi Sherisse,

The U.S. based Gerber rep we spoke to did not have any info on the line of Suzy's Zoo products. They told us that they are not typically sold in the U.S., but internationally.

Best,

Alicia

My goodness, I have a headache just from thinking about this Gerber/Fashion pacifier issue. I was just at Babies-R-Us and analyzed ALL of the Nuk pacifiers. They ALL say classic under the orthodontic labeling. According to SoftLanding's safe list, the Nautical and Classic pacifiers are SAFE from BPA and PP, right? Thank you to Binh's comment on April 20th with the gerber pacifier websites, I saw a picture of what the classic/nautical look like. This was super helpful. I will now ONLY buy those for my daughter, and return the other ones that are possibly the wrong "fashion" style. I love this website! I took the printable lists with me to the store! But, could you provide pictures of the safe gerber pacifiers with the list? Similar to the Sassy teether pics/list? It would really clear up the confusion for the time being. Thanks!

I was also wondering if there is any BPA info on Sassy Teething Feeders? It is a mesh teether that you can insert fruit into and the baby can suck on it? Has anyone used those?

Hi-
Everyone is SO worried what is in their stuff, but no one is worried about all the cancer causing stuff in Chinese made products? Can anyone tell me where I can buy items NOT MADE IN CHINA? By the time things are recalled millions of children and adults have used them. I think people need to start saying no to chinese products as well as to the bpa free. If anyone knows how to buy NO Chinese made products and where I can get them online I would appreciate it. Toys r us, babies r us, carter kids, disney, etc are all chinese products, so I would love to find made elsewhere products. They may not care about our people but I do and wont buy anything made in china anymore.

Why did Gerber discontinue the Soft Center Pacifiers? Not the new ones they have out but the big bulb ones. The big bulbed pacifiers are the only ones my daughter will take and the only place I can find them is on ebay.

Hi Brittney,

They didn't tell us why they chose to discontinue the soft center pacifiers. It sounds like they're just moving away from all of their pacifiers made with polycarbonate.

Wish I could help,

Alicia

Dear Brittney,

I have the same issue - my 8 month old's pacifier is old and worn out and he absolutely refuses anything else. I have spent at least $30 trying other types.
Is the one that pricebully is selling the one with the big rubber bulb??

-Dina

My son will only take the Gerber soft center latex pacifier too. I've tried everything to switch him to another soother but forget it. Even the silicone ones he refuses to take. I have to order off of ebay too. The one he first got was getting really worn and enlarged and I had no other option but to get more if we wanted to sleep at all. I bought his first one in a small town and they obviously hadn't updated there shelves in awhile and now I don't know what to do. Is it really that bad? Should I keep trying to switch him?

Hi Noelle,

Sometimes you have to way the pros and cons in a situation like this one. It's extremely difficult to get some babies to a new unfamiliar pacifier (as you know). I honestly believe that if it's becoming more a torture to switch, you should relax and let it go. I think the priorities of avoiding BPA should go in the go in the following order: 1) Ready-to-eat formula in BPA-lined cans (as well as other canned foods), 2) Baby bottles, 3) Food containers/dishes, 4) Pacifiers, teethers and toys.

At least the baby is sucking on the nipple most of the time. I do think you should make sure he's not using the pacifier handle as a teether :)

Sincerely,

Alicia

Thanks for the reply and putting my mind at ease about this! My priority was always his bottles being BPA free but when I found out about the pacifier I obviously got worried too. He doesn't chew on the handle and only uses the pacifier to go to sleep, never to just play with. Thanks again!!

So then the pacifiers that are not BPA free (like the NAM) or the ones we are unsure about Gerber Orthodontic (Classic Style--which I bought yesterday after seeing this site b/c I thought they were safe) would only have BPA in the handle??

Hi Robin,

The location of the BPA varies from one pacifier style to the next. Some pacifiers have BPA in the handle, while others have BPA in the shield.

Alicia

Hi,

Our 2 yr old still has a dummy for sleeping and when she is upset. She has always had the silicone nuk starlight pacifiers. Does anyone know if this one is ok? Is it different for different countries? I was of the understanding that the nuk products were all made in Germany.

Hers are quite old (at least 4-6mths, eek i know, Im just having trouble finding new ones where we live in the larger size, we do have a handful of them tho and I dispose of them if they become damaged.)

We are in Australia and for some reason I cannot get through to their website (it keeps telling me Im not from the US) so Im unsure as to who I can ring to double check.

Thanks
Michelle

does anyone know of a place i can get my money back or exchanges for products without bpa? all the bottles from baby showers, hospital, and personal bought have BPA and im not sure i can afford to buy more, especially when i spent extra thinking that meant they were good ones