In our house, we have avoided microwaving plastic for several years. As an endometriosis patient (among many other chronic illnesses), I first became aware of problems with plastics leaching into foods and problems with endocrine disruptors many years back… in the medical reading I do.

This was before these issues started to be discussed in the media. I have blogged about BPA, phthalates, endocrine disruptors and related issues on my blog.

Like one of your other commenters aboove, I don't use Teflon-coated pans either. (This is another loaded topic).

From everything I have read/heard, heat and plastic are just a bad combination for anything food-related. There are many toxins besides BPA that are toxic at issue.

The heating (or freezing) of plastic changes the chemical composition of the item. For this reason, we don't ever toss a drink bottle into the freezer for a few minutes to chill it… because it's not healthy either.

BPA may have gotten more media time than some of the other toxins but plastics have plenty more unhealthy ingredients than just BPA. While BPA-free is far better than plastics containing BPA, my personal belief is that heating plastics of any kind in the microwave is unhealthy.

It is sad to me that the plastics industry is so powerful… In the meantime, human beings' health has been negatively impacted by chemicals that were/are known by people in the plastics industry to be harmful.

Infertility is associated with exposure to certain toxins in our environment… we are only beginning to understand the connections.

Just as tobacco industry personnel knowingly sold harmful tobacco products while denying their adverse health effects, plastics industry personnel seem to be more concerned about profits than consumers' health.

Before BPA got the media attention it has and before enough consumers started shifting their dollars from BPA products to BPA-free products, I had signed a (MomsRising) petition regarding the issue of BPA in baby bottles.

The petition was an effort to push the top 5 baby bottle manufacturers into at least *offering* safer choices from which consumers could pick. As important as such petitions are at improving consumers' ability to even FIND safer choices, it's imperative for consumers to consistently put their cash behind safer alternative products (whether the issue is BPA or something else) once they are accessible. (Yes, I'm saying this is about money for the plastics industry)!

These large companies have shown that they will make safer options available if the public demands them.

Blogs like this are very important at getting the word out to people regarding what the safest options are. Great post, Alicia!

We certainly can't rely on the plastics industry to give us our information!

Jeanne

Emma

I wish there was a clear answer for this issue, but I’ve been researching it for months and still haven’t found one.

I have to say that the more I research, the more uncomfortable I am with microwaving any plastic, whether BPA-free or not (including microwave sterilizers). We just don’t know enough about how much a microwave will degrade plastic, causing breakdowns in the plastic molecules. I’ve often wondered whether hot spots happen in plastic the same way they happen in food??

I’ll continue to research this subject and update you as we learn more. But until then, I feel it’s best to stay away from microwaving plastic.

As for sterilizing BPA-free plastic in boiling water, I have a few thoughts – and please keep in mind that these are just my thoughts (no hard, cold research findings here) . . .

Boiling water uses a different principle for heating the plastic than does microwaving. It’s a more even heating process, which leads me to think it should be fine for plastics that have been confirmed to be BPA-free.

Another thought on sterilizing in general . . .

Many experts believe that it’s not necessary to sterilize baby feeding gear, especially for healthy babies (you should follow the manufacturer’s directions for the first use.) You can read a great explanation on that here.

Thanks again for taking the time to leave such great comments!

Alicia

Great job here! Thank you for the invaluable info you provide!!

I have been wondering though, about the sterilizer. I used to have an Avent one that you put in the micro-wave. I’m getting rid of it and was planning on getting a new one from Born free, they are so convenient and fast. Are there issues with that too? I know there is no food involved in the sterilization process, but could the waves still be harmful with the plastic?? Where can I find a clear answer about that issue? Help please!