BPA, PVC and Phthalate Free Pacifier Guide

Can TheSoftLanding please post safety info for Gerber NUK Orthodontic Pacifiers?

Please clarify the Mam situation. It is so confusing.
Exactly which pacifiers are safe to use?

Hi Jenny,

We’ve clarified as much as possible with Sassy MAM in another update here.

The situation, in essence, is that Sassy MAM pacifier are in the process of going BPA free, but the transition will not be officially completed until the end of the year. So we recommend continuing to avoid them until that time.

Alicia

Is it only the face shield of a pacifier that contains BPA?

Hi Kristen,

Yes, that’s exactly right. The nipple does not contain BPA.

Alicia

What about the chemicals in Earth’s Best organic formula cans??

Hi Alex,

You can find detailed info on BPA in infant formular completed by the Envrionmental Working Group here.

I am totally confused about MAM products!!! Here is the answer I just got when asking them about BPA in their pacifiers…

“I can confirm that MAM UK never used BPA in any of our products!

Many Thanks!

Emily Dike”

So who is right???

Hi Mag,

The UK may have completely different standards for using BPA in their baby products than we do in the U.S.

Any lists we provide are always applicable to the U.S., but may not be correct for the same products sold internationally.

Sorry – wish I could be of more help,

Alicia

thanks so much for doing this research and sharing the results. it is such a service to us all. what a shame that it is even necessary!

I am confused about something. Are the BPA and Phthalate chemicals only in the hard shield part of the pacifier, or is in the nipple part too? Does it depend on the brand? My son is extremely attached to his gerber soft center round pacifer – is it the nipple or face shield that contains those chemicals? Is there a comparable pacifier that would be better? What about Gerbers soft center silicon pacifier?

Hi Lauren,

It is confusing!

Yes, BPA is part of the hard plastic (not the nipple). And phthalates are added to more flexible parts of the shield (not the nipple).

No, it does not depend on the brand – silicone and latex do not contain BPA, PVC or phthalates.

Yes, the Playtex Most Like Mom Binky is a rounded shape and the Natursutten Natural Rubber pacifier offers a round option too.

We do recommend going with either a silicone nipple or a natural rubber latex nipple, in lieu of synthetic latex because of chemicals related to processing the synthetic version.

Hope that helps clear it up a bit.

Alicia

I recently purchased some Advent pacifiers for my son. They are labeld “BPA-Free”, but they also have the #7 recycling code this this note: “Contains Copolyester”. Does anyone know anything about Copolyester? And if something is labeled “BPA-Free” does that also mean it’s phthalate free? Even with all the wonderful info on this blog I’m still confused.

I just tried to leave a different posting and got an error that I had already posted it???? I’ve never posted here before. Help!

On a separate note, I just spoke with Judy at Sassy/Mam (616) 243-0767 and she told me that most of the pacifiers are and have been bpa-free for over a year now. She said for sure the two I’ve used were bpa-free: crystal clear, trends, and stripes. I’ve seen several postings that it’s hard to get in contact with Sassy, but I was able to speak with someone right away.

Yay! My original question popped up too.

Hi Carla,

The new BPA-free Avent pacifiers are made from a “copolyester” plastic which throws them in the catch-all category #7.

Not to worry, their new pacifiers are BPA, PVC and phthalate free. You can learn more about the #7 recycling code here.

As for whether the Sassy/MAM pacifiers you mentioned are BPA free, we were told by their Quality Assurance Dept. that none of their pacifiers are currently BPA free. The Customer Service Reps don’t seem to have the most accurate information, which is confusing.

Best,

Alicia

Thank you! That’s really too bad about Sassy/MAM. I hope I can get my son to switch to the Advent. Thanks again! )

Alicia,
I was just at Babies R Us and Sassy/MAM pacifiers now say BPA Free on the package. Do I still need to avoid them?
Kim

Does anyone know if it is safer to use silicone pacifiers or BPA/PVC free plastic ones?
I’ve been using NUK silicone but they get so much lint in the sides, it’s disgusting. I have the natursutten too but they are hard for her to hold in on her own because they’re heavy. I was considering the evenflo one pieces but they are plastic and although supposedly safe, it still scares me.

Any suggesstions??

Hey,, my son uses gumdrop pacifiers.. he absolutley loves them.. he will not tak another one.. it is a silicone pacifier that fits great around the mouth.. i bought it from amazon .com.. the natural scent is better the ones that have a taste he only takes for a week then he spits them out.. goodluck!!

Hi my daughter takes the soft round pacifier and i think they are discontinured? if anyone knows where i can find one please E-MAIL me immediately. They are soft round pacifier, with the brown nipple, they were made in colors of pink and purple, red and blue and yellow and green/teal. I have checked every drug store in my city and cannot find one. help is wanted thanks terri

I just bought a Razbaby keep-it-kleen pacificer, but there was no indication whether it was BPA-free or not. So, I called the company and it will not be BPA-free until April 2009.

Hey, is there a section just for latest news

MAM Classic 2+ is BPA free as well, only the Classic 6+ was PC. The Classic 6+ has been discontinued last year. The Air model will soon come again and be BPA free.
MAM pacifiers have been BPA-free ever since or changed starting 2007, depending on the model. So by now you would only find real left overs of PC in the market. The problem of course is that they've been only marked as BPA-free since late last year when MAM switched step by step to the new white packaging.
Please check my post at http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2008/08/07/update… for more info.
Most important: BPA is a bottle issue, not a pacifier issue. When liquids get cooked or heated high in a PC bottle, BPA can migrate into the liquid. So if you cook your PC-bottle or fill in hot liquid, BPA migrates into the liquid. And then your baby drinks the liquid containing BPA. With pacifiers it’s different: Your baby isn’t cooking and doesn’t drink any liquid the pacifier might be cooked in for sterilization. That’s why it’s a bottle issue and the upcoming legislation is targeting bottles and not pacifiers. And the MAM bottles have been BPA free since their inception! They came to the US market some 5 years ago, WAY before the competition came out with their BPA free bottles (and charged 15 dollars for ONE bottle… sorry, it still amazes me). If you want to know more about this topic, have a look at may other post.