Which Prepared Baby Food Containers are BPA Free?

by on February 2, 2009 in Baby Food, Shopping Guides

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

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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  • freakingoutoverbpa

    lead crystal? where are you buying your baby food?

  • lesleyomahony

    Hi there
    Babypotz are an irish company who ship all over the world and they sell bpa free pots in all special baby sizes – they are great ! http://www.babypotz.com

  • jpstam

    Has anyone found an all glass, freezable, 2-4 oz storage container? This would be ideal… no plastic lids, no coatings … was looking at the old fashioned jarring glass containers, but not sure about their freez-ability.

  • jpstam

    It says right on their homepage that “Reusable, quality polypropylene ” — is that OK?

  • lesleyomahony

    yes babypotz.com have reusable quality propylene – totally safe and BPA free

  • lesleyomahony

    yes babypotz.com have reusable quality propylene – totally safe and BPA free

  • Jo

    can someone explain how glass has bpa in it when bpa is a plastic product?
    Also I've NEVER seen Parent's Choice baby food in a plastic container, we can only purchase it in glass here

  • http://thesoftlanding.com Alicia

    Hi Jo,

    All of the glass baby food jars we've researched are made with aluminum lids. Aluminum can be toxic if absorbed by the food, so a BPA-based epoxy is used to coat the lid and protect the food. During processing, the baby food is heated to high temperatures, allowing the for the perfect BPA-leaching situation.

  • d334nn4

    Ella's Kitchen is also BPA-free. Same style packaging as Plum, but more/different interesting flavors, finally here in the states!!

  • http://livewell-organic.com/earths-best-organic-baby-food Organic Baby Food

    All my children were raised on organic foods and they are never sick, no allergys and are all very healthy and athletic.

  • Sara

    Argh! I want to make my own, but haven’t yet because we’re in the middle of moving. I’ve been using Earth’s Best and have even been scraping food off the lid when there is some clumped on it. I had no idea. And I thought glass was always a sure bet. Now I know better I guess, but I’m just bothered by what my son might have been exposed to over the past month. :( It never ends.

  • Rachel

    I am curious about the Wild Harvest Organic baby food containers.

  • Nunezbulut

    Uffff!  From now on I’m only feeding my twin babies home-made baby food.  By reading this article I’m starting to wonder what damage have all the preserved stuff we’ve consumed all this years done to us. 

  • Stsutton

    Does anyone know if Earth’s Best food pouches are BPA free?  I called and the rep said yes they were but it is not on the packaging or on their website which makes me suspicious.  Thanks

    • http://thesoftlanding.com Alicia

      Hi Stsutton,

      We haven’t contacted Earth’s Best about their pouches, but every pouch we’ve researched so far has been BPA-freer.

      We’re working on an updated baby food shopping guide, so keep your eyes peeled!

    • http://thesoftlanding.com Alicia

      Hi Stsutton – We contacted them last week and received a response saying they’re looking into it. Hopefully we’ll hear back soon!

  • Bobbistar

    Ella’s Kitchen is BPA free as well ;0)

  • Dorcas

    What about phthalates from the Gerber packaging?

  • Timothyyewya

    what about Healthy Times baby food jars? Would really appreciate if you have any information. Thank you.

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com 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

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    Hi Adriane,

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

    Alicia

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    That’s a good question, Christine. We haven’t contacted United Natural Foods yet, so can’t help you there. We’ll be working our way through some of the other foods out there packaged in glass with metal lids in the next few weeks. In the meantime, you may want contact manufacturers of the brands you use regularly to find out their BPA status.

    Alicia

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    Excellent question, Katy! We’ll be working on canning jar lids over the next few weeks.

    I think you’re in good shape using silicone to freeze baby food in. Silicone is generally non-toxic and can endure freezing as well as high temps too.

    Alicia

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    Excellent question, Katy! We’ll be working on canning jar lids over the next few weeks.

    I think you’re in good shape using silicone to freeze baby food in. Silicone is generally non-toxic and can endure freezing as well as high temps too.

    Alicia

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    Hi Gail,

    Thanks for suggesting the Kroger brand. We’ll be contacting them this week and will post our findings on those for you too.

    Alicia

  • http://www.thesoftlanding.com softlanding

    Hi Tiffany,

    Thank you for your insightful input!

    I completely agree that manufacturers testing baby food for evidence of BPA and other chemicals would be a great help (so long as they provide those results to our governing bodies for certification). There are also options besides BPA epoxy for lining the metal lids and canned foods, and I hope to spur manufactures on to begin locating and using them. My goal here is to make parents aware so they can make informed decisions about what the products they buy.

    I’ve never seen the study you pointed out on rigid PS (I appreciate you linking to it), although I have reviewed the study regarding oleamide leaching from polypropylene. I realize that we’ll likely never see a world without plastic, so instead of throwing out whole categories based on one or two studies, I choose to remain aware of research mounting enough credible evidence harm that it necessitates avoidance (as in BPA, PVC and phthalates).

    We may very likely see more proof of harm caused by PS and oleamide in the coming year as more focus is placed on plastics research and their effects on humans. And I’m absolutely sure you’re right in saying that BPA represents the tip of the iceberg . . .

    Sincerely,

    Alicia

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