Parents are taking the time to educate themselves about various plastics available on the market today. It’s been proven recently that what you don’t know can hurt you – and your children.
PES (polyethersulfone) is quickly becoming the plastic of choice to replace BPA-containing polycarbonate. It makes sense that we get a handle on what PES really is and why major baby bottle, sippy cup and pacifier manufacturers are using it.
We recently had the opportunity to interview Kevin Brodwick, thinkbaby’s™ founder, about PES plastic. We hit him with our biggest, burning questions – and he overwhelmed us with his amazing technical knowledge of plastics!
Can you give us a little background on PES plastic?
For the last half century, selecting the proper plastic for the manufacture of utensils and containers used in the safe preparation and storage of food has not been a simple matter as science and industry have brought a wide array of plastics to the global marketplace and manufacturers have been challenged with selecting the plastic best suited for their products. For thinkbaby™, this has meant selecting and using polyethersulfone, or “PES,” in the construction of baby bottles that ensure the clean, healthy and safe delivery of food to infants, toddlers and children. PES has been used in commercial applications for over twenty years. thinkbaby’s™ choice of PES is significant as it has set its product aside from very common and widely available bottles and utensils constructed from polycarbonate plastics. At its best, the market has driven technological innovation as consumers have used and tested plastic products to their limits and have discovered and reported their weakness and failures and in turn have demanded that manufacturers make improvements in their construction. At its worst, the marketplace has served to facilitate the widespread diffusion and use of plastics in consumer commodities that pose potential undetected safety and health risks, of which polycarbonate plastic is one example. Scientific research indicates that the chemical compound Bisphenol A, or “BPA,” a primary ingredient of polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins products may be a disrupter of the human endocrine system and therefore, may pose a significant human health risk.
How does PES compare to polycarbonate plastic?
Bisphenol-A containing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins have several mechanical characteristics that initially make them appear to be attractive candidates for the manufacture of food containers. Polycarbonate plastic made with BPA is resistant to breakage from impact and it can be molded into structurally rigid containers with light, thin and colorful transparent sidewalls. While its surfaces are not entirely abrasion resistant, they are very hard and smooth and therefore are relatively easy to clean. BPA epoxy resins can be readily applied to food cans and bottle caps to prevent their contents from reacting with their metal bodies. Finally, polycarbonate plastics and BPA epoxy resins are structurally sound when used at temperatures as high as 266 degrees Fahrenheit. This is well above the 212 degrees Fahrenheit at which water is boiled and is used for sterilization. However, it is now also generally understood that Polycarbonate plastic and BPA epoxy resin lined containers readily released their BPA when heated to temperatures approaching 212 degrees or when exposed to some bleaches and alkali cleansers. Low levels of BPA have even been discovered in water contained in polycarbonate containers stored at room temperatures.
thinkbaby™ has selected PES for the construction of its baby bottles precisely because many of its mechanical characteristics are shared with or are superior to those of BPA containing polycarbonate plastics. PES is capable of rendering the same shapes and dimensions in food containers as polycarbonate plastics. PES is physically highly durable without the use of BPA. In the addition to rooting out BPA, we have an extensive list of chemicals that we look for to make sure that our products are safe. To reach this conclusion we conduct both chemical and biologic testing. PES is also ideal for the construction of baby bottles because it can be safely and easily sterilized. PES plastics will maintain their tensile strength and form with continuous use at temperatures as high as 356 degrees Fahrenheit. While it is clear that food would never be stored and served at temperatures in this range, PES’ exceptional heat resistance does make it safe for both cleaning in the upper racks of dishwashers and suitable for sterilization by boiling in water. PES plastics’ hardness helps to prevent the build -up of residues that may harbor harmful bacteria and makes thinkbaby™ bottles easy to clean by washing with simple mild soap and water.
Should thinkbaby™ bottles be used in the microwave?
While thinkbaby™ bottles’ heat resistance makes them structurally safe and sound for use in microwaving and sterilization in common household plug-in sterilizers, thinkbaby™ recommends sterilizing its bottles by boiling them in water in stainless steel containers. It is possible that some microwave interiors and sterilizer interiors may be constructed from BPA containing polycarbonate plastics and therefore, may risk contaminating thinkbaby’s™ non-toxic PES plastic bottles with BPA. We also recommend never placing any plastics in the microwave due to the potential for undetected hot spots in the plastic.
Why did you choose to use PES plastic in your products?
thinkbaby™ has carefully selected PES as the plastic best suited for the construction of its baby bottles to ensure the safe preparation and storage of food served to infants, toddlers and children. PES is tough, nontoxic and easy to clean. It is thinkbaby’s™ belief that its introduction of clean and safe baby bottles constructed from PES to today’s marketplace combines the best of what science and industry have to offer and will empower consumers to protect their families’ health where the market has previously failed to do so.
Many thanks to Kevin Brodwick along with Rebecca Noble, thinkbaby’s™ researcher extraordinaire, for sharing their amazing technical knowledge about PES plastic!
>> PES is one of those plastics that ended up in the #7 recycling category because it didn’t fit well into the other categories. As you can see, recycling categories should be used as a general guideline only. Read more about the mysterious #7′s here.
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