35 years after Elmer Foot Beat's hit, there's nothing fantastic about plastic anymore. Its microparticles, known as microplastics, are everywhere and almost impossible to filter, even in babies' feeding bottles. Élhée explains how to avoid them, to protect your baby's health.
CONTENTS :
- The invisible world of microplastics: what are they and where exactly do they come from?
- When science informs our choices: what studies on plastic baby bottles tell us
- What are the health risks for babies?
- Creating a protective cocoon: in practice, how can we limit children's exposure?
- Élhee, from sensory innovation to enlightened parenting
The invisible world of microplastics: what are they and where exactly do they come from?
- Microplastics are suspended in the air, often resulting from the degradation of external elements (tarpaulins, building materials, etc.) or synthetic fibers.
- In the oceans, rivers and tap waterThey come from waste and consumer products (cosmetics, food, etc.).
- In fact, some cosmetics, such as scrubs, creams and toothpastes, have long contained plastic microbeads before they were banned in France from 2018.
- They are also found in certain foods such as sea salt, seafood and evenbottled mineral water.
- Many garments are made from synthetic fibers such as polyester, which release micro-particles when worn or washed.
- Bags, packaging, toys, food nets, garden furniture, kitchen utensils, tools... They can all break up into tiny pieces of plastic that scatter into the environment. Even plastic baby bottles (polypropylene PP) can release them.
Microplastics are thus present in water, food and air, probably endangering the health of adults and babies, as well as biodiversity. This is why many researchers are trying to establish the precise scope of their effects.
When science informs our choices: what studies on plastic baby bottles tell us
Conducted by a team of researchers from Trinity College Dublin and published in the journal Nature Food in 2020, the " Microplastics in hot water " study revealed that polypropylene baby bottles release up to 16 million microplastics per liter of liquid, milk or water.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists analyzed 10 types of plastic baby bottles, which in 2022 accounted for just under 60% of the global market. While all are affected by microplastics, it is during mixing that the release of microplastics is most significant.
According to their estimates, a 12-month-old infant could ingest as many as 1.6 million microplastic particles a day, via feeding bottles alone.
While the study did not conclude that there was an immediate health risk, it did highlight the lack of hindsight on the long-term effects of this early exposure, and put forward a number of recommendations.
- If you sterilize bottles, rinse them in cold water.
- Don't pour hot water directly into your baby's bottle.
- Do not heat the bottle in the microwave.
3 release mechanisms for microplastics in baby bottles
While microplastics are present in plastic baby bottles and in the water used to prepare them, certain times are more conducive to their release.
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When you shake the milk in the bottle
When you prepare your baby's bottles, shaking them to mix the milk causes mechanical wear to the plastic surface . Microscopic particles then break off and find their way into the milk. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced the older and more fragile the bottles.
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When you heat the bottle
Subjected to high temperatures during sterilization and/or regularly reheated, plastic degrades, becomes brittle and more likely to release microplastics. Above 70°C, the process can be accelerated.
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When cleaning the bottle
Repeated use of dishwashers, unsuitable cleaning products or hard brushes in particular, leads to micro-cracks in the plastic, which can become starting points for the release of plastic nano and micro-particles.
What are the health risks for babies?
What science knows
- Numerous studies have detected microplastics in various human tissues, including the placenta, suggesting widespread contamination.
- PP plastic baby bottles can release up to 16 million microparticles per liter during the preparation of infant milk.
- Microplastics have been found in human breast milk, according to studies published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine (JCM).
- The presence of microplastics was detected in the meconium (first stools) of newborns, indicating prenatal exposure.
- Babies ingest proportionately more microplastics than adults, due to their lower body weight and higher relative consumption.
What science suggests
- Some studies indicate that ingesting microplastics can cause inflammation of the digestive system.
- Microplastics can contain or absorb chemical substances, such as endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with the hormonal system.
- Microplastics could cross the blood-brain barrier, which is particularly permeable in infants.
- Nanoplastics (even smaller than microplastics) could penetrate cells and disrupt their normal functions.
What science still doesn't know
- What is the body's tolerance threshold to microplastic ingestion?
- What are the long-term consequences for human health, particularly in infants?
- Are there natural mechanisms for eliminating microplastics in infants?
With so many unanswered questions, when it comes to your baby's meals, choose a safe alternative, essential for limiting exposure to these invisible contaminants.
Creating a protective cocoon: in practice, how can we limit children's exposure?
Because nothing is more important than children's health, and because baby bottles are the main entry point for microplastics into their bodies, start by banishing conventional plastic baby bottles and food containers, and opt for safe materials.
When preparing the milk, be careful how you heat it: avoid using the microwave, as the poorly distributed heat can damage the plastic and encourage the release of microplastics. Instead, use a bottle warmer that preserves the milk's nutritional qualities and provides a safe, even temperature rise.
Also, if you didn't know, the Haut Conseil de la Santé Publique no longer recommends sterilizing baby bottles.
Finally, before you buy a new feeding bottle, check that it meets certain safety standards (in particular EN 14350) and find out, if you can, where and under what conditions it is manufactured.
Similarly, a silicone teat is always preferable to a latex one. And if it's physiologically shaped, it's even better.
- 🍼 By the way, do you know the advantages of medical silicone ?
To go even further, you can also filter the water used to prepare baby's bottles (carbon filter, osmosis water), air your home and baby's room regularly, opt for clothes and linen made from natural fibers (organic cotton, linen, wool) and, why not, limit the use of plastic toys, especially for outdoor use, which are easily damaged.
Alternatives to plastics: a safe, tactile exploration
Fortunately, research and innovation work in childcare too. Various alternatives exist to make it easier for you to give up plastic baby bottles.
Glass: healthy but fragile
The glass feeding bottle is a healthy alternative that releases no microplastics or chemical substances. Easy to clean, they stand the test of time... but not of falls. Despite the existence of reinforced or silicone-coated models, the risk of breakage and injury remains a major obstacle for most parents.
Stainless steel: robust but cold
Stainless steel is strong, durable and unbreakable, and it retains neither odor nor taste. But it is cold to the touch , and some infants are uncomfortable with its opacity. It's also more expensive, and often less common on nursery shelves.
Medical silicone, a promising avenue
Medical-grade silicone is becoming increasingly popular with families. Flexible, lightweight, unbreakable and soft to the touch, it reassures parents and babies alike. Resistant to both heat and freezing, it is 100% healthy, BPA (Bisphenol A) and microplastic-free, and drop-proof. Note that medical silicone is the standard for many teats.
Élhee, from sensory innovation to enlightened parenting
Of course, Élhée teats are made from medical grade silicone, but that's not all. Our entire range - feeding bottles, training cups, sucking spouts and also pacifiers (the Pacifier Choochoo is the first Pacifier to be made entirely from medical silicone and in a single piece) is designed in medical silicone, for your peace of mind and your baby's health.
Non-allergenic and perfectly suited to food contact, free of chemicals that can spread and transformed by a peroxide-free platinum catalysis process, for the absence of plastic micro-particles, medical silicone is safe for your baby.
In this way, Élhée makes a commitment to all parents looking for products that respect their children's health. But that's not all. Made in France, assembled, packaged and shipped from the Drôme, BibRonds arrive in FSC-certified packaging, printed with vegetable-based inks.
With a taste for sensoriality, we've chosen to rethink everyday childcare. Softer and more poetic, it fits in perfectly with your life. Élhée, products designed for the well-being of babies, conceived with the utmost care to support your parenthood with complete confidence.
For healthy babies and peaceful parenthood
At Élhée, we value informed, guilt-free parenting. Because being a parent involves many decisions, we see ourselves as a reliable benchmark, a trusted brand, behind products designed to the highest standards.
Because some issues, such as microplastics, can raise concerns for you, and because being informed gives you the opportunity to make conscious choices, we are also committed to transparency.
Our products are not mere objects, but sensory mediators designed to nurture those precious moments when bonds of attachment are forged.
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