Which Prepared Baby Food Containers are BPA Free?

February 2, 2009 by Alicia
Filed under Baby Food, Shopping Guides

BPA-free Plum Organics Baby Food

UPDATED 2/3/09

Concern about the harmful affects of bisphenol-a (BPA) in polycarbonate plastic baby feeding gear is spreading quickly. Unfortunately, BPA is also commonly found in epoxy resins used for protective linings in canned food, ready-to-feed infant formula and metal lids of baby food jars. A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found such widespread exposure to BPA may result in levels of up to 11 times higher in infants than in adults. Research has suggested that young children are more susceptible to the harmful affects of environmental toxins and scientists are calling for more sensitive testing methods to determine what a safe level would be, specifically for children. And to top it all off, a recent UK study raised the concern that BPA may remain in the body longer than previously suspected.

Lowering our children’s exposure to environmental toxins is a necessity, but avoiding BPA can be difficult because it lurks in so many unsuspecting products. We have to wonder where it will show up next when the chemical industry is pumping out more than 7 billion pounds of the stuff per year.

We’ve started the search for BPA-free baby food containers to help you out. If you need information on baby formula, please review the Environmental Working Group’s helpful list here.

Commercially Prepared Baby Food in BPA-free Containers

Sprout Baby (brand new – just announced by Healthy Child 2/3/09)
Yummy Spoonfuls
Happy Baby
Plum Organics
Homemade Baby
Tasty Baby
Fifi Bear’s
Maddy’s Organic Meals
Parent’s Choice (they don’t make baby food in glass jars)
Gerber (all baby food products except glass baby food jars are BPA-free)
Beechnut (plastic containers used for juices, Stage 2 fruits, Good Morning, Good Evening and DHA plus+ juices are BPA-free; glass baby food jars do contain BPA)

Baby Food Containers using BPA

Earth’s Best (they told us that BPA is used in minute amounts in the glass jar lids, but that independent testing showed no BPA contamination in the baby food. Use your own discretion here)
Beechnut (they told us that their glass baby food jars contain trace amounts of BPA)
Gerber (glass baby food jars only)
Nature’s Goodness

We’ve tried to to contact Heinz repeatedly but we haven’t received an answer yet.

Have we missed any BPA-free brands that you know of? If so, leave a comment and let us know

We do recommend making your own baby food if possible and storing it in reusable containers such as Baby Cubes, Fresh Baby Trays or glass storage dishes.

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Tags: Baby Food Glass Jars, BPA Free Baby Food Containers, BPA in Epoxy Lining, Environmental Health Perspectives, EWG, Infant Formula

Johanna

WOW. We avoid plastic like it's the plague, but some of the safest choices listed above are plastic! We make our own babyfood [with the Fresh Baby trays], but have purchased some EBs jarred products for cross country travel. We knew all along glass jar lids were coated, but chose them because of recyclability/reusability for crafts, storage, etc... even still we never knew what to do with the metal lids. Maybe we'll switch to these other brands if the entire package is recyclable... some food for thought. Thank you!

Sarah Jo

shocking. i also made/make my own food. but there were occasions that i bought earth's best in the jars for travel. here i was consciously buying the glass as to avoid bpa in any of the plastic brands. i even snubbed gerber organic in the plastic container when my mom tried to give it to me. sorry, gerber. proves to making your own is the safest bet.

David Schiff

but I still have problems wrapping my arms around the idea that plastic containers bpa free or not are better than glass (with lids that contain trace amounts of bpa - any thoughts?)

Kari

Hey all,

I noticed yesterday that the container for the Gerber Graduates Pasta Pick-Ups are made with #7 plastic. I don't believe that would be BPA free. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Thanks a bunch!

softlanding

Hi Kari,

The #7 plastic is a confusing issue for sure! So much so, that we wrote an article addressing Gerber Graduates - you can read it here.

Basically, the Gerber plastic containers are made from a #7 plastic, but the plastic does not contain BPA. They use a layered type of plastic, which combines two recycling categories (which are both BPA-free). The layering causes this plastic to end up in the "other" category #7.

Recycling codes should only be used as a guideline for those times when you don't have any info from the manufacturer on what specific types of plastic is used.

Hope that helps shed some light on it,

Alicia

Trisha

Great list. According to Gerber, their containers are made from #1 and #6 (polystyrene, which is on the plastics to avoid list). Even if the plasic containers are BPA free, does not mean the are still safe. Parents should contact the manufacturer when the are not certain what the plastic is made of. I called Gerber multiple times. Sometimes they said the containers were made from 1 and 6, and other times 2 and 6. but always #6.

http://amomsblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/bpa-i...

I need to go back and check, but I want to say I heard from Heinz last year and the lids did contain BPA. Of course that was a year ago and I'd need to follow up.

Trisha

Adriane

What about containers for freezing homemade baby food- specifically Baby Cubes? Are they BPA-free? I've heard conflicting reports.

softlanding

Hi Trisha,

I really appreciate your input!

While it's true that some Gerber containers are made using polystyrene (PS) plastic in combination with other plastics, I'm not aware of research that specifically addresses leaching of styrene from its firm PS form, rather than its foam form (Styrofoam).

I've searched high and low for info on firm PS and just haven't been able to find any concrete evidence showing that styrene actually leaches from it. There is some information on styrene leaching from Styrofoam, which is unstable and breaks down easily with heat and high fat foods.

I've also searched for info on other plastic combinations using styrene components, such as SAN and ABS and haven't been able to locate any hard evidence of styrene leaching from those plastics yet either.

I do understand that styrene is harmful during production, but as for leaching from a plastic resin combination, I'm just not yet convinced.

Have you found any concrete evidence of a leaching occurrence? I would really appreciate any input you have on that.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback,

Alicia

softlanding

Hi Adriane,

Yes, Baby Cubes are definitely BPA-free (see our article on them here). And you can freeze them as well.

Alicia

Christine

Does the brand "organic baby" distributed by United Natural Foods, Inc. and sold in stores like Whole Foods contain BPA in the lids of their jarred baby food? Also, that raises another question about jarred fruits such as peaches & pears under the Del Monte label that are sold in most supermarkets.