Chemical linked to low sperm count, obesity and cancer found in dummies, tests find | Children’s health

A chemical linked to sexual dysfunction, obesity and cancer has been found in baby pacifiers produced by three major European brands.

Mannequins made by Dutch multinational Philips, Swiss oral health specialists Curaprox and French toy brand Sophie la Girafe were found to contain bisphenol A (BPA), according to laboratory tests by Czech consumer agency dTest. While Philips later said they did tests and found no BPA, Sophie la Girafe said the amount found was insignificant.

All three mannequins were marketed as “BPA-free” or “natural rubber.”

BPA is a synthetic chemical used in the production of plastic, but it has a structure similar to the female hormone estrogen, which it mimics in the bodies of humans and other animals.

Chloe Topping, a Chem Trust campaigner who was not involved in the research, said: “The health effects of BPA are extensive: breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometriosis, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, changes to the immune system, effects on reproduction, brain development and behavior, including behavior in children.”

Because exposure to bisphenol A at an early age or in the womb has been linked to reduced sperm count and early onset of puberty, children are particularly vulnerable “because they are still developing and their organs are very susceptible to deterioration,” Topping said. “And the thing about endocrine disrupting chemicals…they can act at very, very low concentrations,” he said.

Researchers purchased 19 baby pacifiers from stores in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary and two pacifiers from the online marketplace Temu, produced by Foshan City Saidah Baby Products. They placed each pacifier in an artificial saliva solution at 37C (98.6F) for 30 minutes to mimic conditions in a baby’s mouth. The resulting extract was analyzed to determine the content of bisphenols.

Among the four pacifiers in which BPA was detected, the highest concentration was found in Curaprox baby pacifiers. Although marketed as “BPA-free,” the researchers found that the BPA concentration was 19 micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg); This is a violation of the 10μg limit set by the EU for the migration of BPA from baby pacifiers.

The second highest concentration was found in Sophie la Girafe’s “natural rubber” pacifier. Laboratory tests found a BPA concentration of 3 µg/kg in the product. Concentrations of 2 µg/kg were also found in a Philips Avent ultra air pacifier marketed as “BPA-free” and in a pacifier from Temu manufactured by Foshan City Saidah.

Curaden, who produces the Curaprox series, said that the result of his baby’s love for pacifiers was a “surprise”. The company conducted its own tests that confirmed the finding. “Out of an abundance of caution and our commitment to quality, Curaden has decided to proactively remove the pacifiers immediately [from affected batches] The spokesperson offered to withdraw from the market and offer refunds to all affected customers.

Vulli, the producers of Sophie la Girafe, backed down. “We have not had a pacifier in our catalog for some time,” said a spokesperson for the toy maker. There pictures remain on the website More babies use pacifiers but they are no longer on sale. “In any case, all our products are special [BPA] tests performed by an accredited laboratory before marketing [SGS]” said the spokesman.

“As a reminder, the regulatory limit [BPA] migration was set at 0.04 mg/kg and the laboratory detection limit was 0.01 mg/kg. The value stated in the article (3 µg/kg or 0.003 mg/kg) is well below this detection limit and is therefore insignificant,” said a Vulli spokesman.

Philips said it views product safety as “our highest priority”, ensured by “full compliance with all applicable safety requirements and following the most stringent standards”.

“We want to ensure that our pacifier ranges are BPA-free throughout the entire production process and to check and confirm this we regularly carry out random testing and other quality checks to meet regulatory requirements,” a spokesperson said. “Following the news about the Philips Avent SCF085/60 pacifier, we checked our results and carried out further testing with DEKRA, the world’s largest independent testing, inspection and certification specialist organization. These tests also confirmed that there was no detectable BPA in our pacifier ranges, including the samples tested, and that they were BPA-free.”

Foshan City Saidah did not respond to a request for comment.

Philips and Sophie la Girafe products are available in the UK, but Curaprox and Foshan City Saidah products have been discontinued.

“Pacifiers are often one of the first products parents buy, and they don’t expect to be exposing their children to hormone-disrupting chemicals from day one,” said Hana Hoffmannová, editor-in-chief of dTest magazine.

Current EU regulation regarding BPA in puppets is unclear. The EN 1400 standard sets a limit of 10 µg/l for BPA migration from babies’ pacifiers, but European Toy Safety DirectiveA limit of 40 µg/l is set for this product, which also includes pacifiers.

EU law has completely banned the use of BPA in baby feeding bottles since 2011, and in 2018 these rules were extended to cover the production of food containers and bottles for children under three. Karolína Brabcová, of Czech campaign group Arnika, said: “It is illogical that biphenols should be banned in feeding bottles but not in pacifiers, which babies use more intensively and, in some cases, for many years.

“We’re seeing a lack of stringent regulation, and that’s disappointing to consumers.”