Please note: This report has been substantially revised and updated since this post was published, most recently in our ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products. Much of the information in this post is outdated, and we encourage you to refer instead to our new consumer guide to BPA and other potentially harmful chemicals in children's products, the ZRecs Guide.
Several readers of our past reporting on BPA in bottles and sippy cups have asked about the use of polycarbonate plastics in pacifiers. If you know such a person, make sure to listen when they talk. They probably bring up a lot of issues before they break in the press.
The mainstream media seems committed to treating the BPA issue one product at a time, but we think it's only a matter of months before the headlines are all about sippy cups, and the staffs of Klean Kanteen and SIGG will be running around madly like Born Free's is right now. After that, pacifiers will be among the products next in line for star treatment. So we thought we'd share some of our findings on pacifiers for those who are interested in the issue already.
Pacifiers' shields are designed to keep them from becoming choking hazards, and they must be durable to withstand the physical abuse that comes with the territory. If the shield breaks, a protective feature instantly becomes a set of choking hazards.
Some companies appear committed to using polycarbonate plastic for their pacifier shields, and Sassy makes an interesting case study. As we reported in our Z Report on baby bottles, Sassy has committed to phasing out polycarbonates in the vast majority of their products. We were so impressed with their level of interest in this issue that we named Sassy's MAM bottles one of our top picks. But Sassy plans to continue using polycarbonate plastic for their pacifier shields because, our source explained, they believe polypropylene poses a potential choking hazard.
After that conversation, we were a bit surprised to discover that at least one company is already using polypropylene for their shields, and has been for years. We have confirmed that all Gerber pacifiers are polycarbonate free - they are made of latex and polyprolylene, with no polycarbonate plastics used. However, we have also confirmed with manufacturers that Avent, Evenflo and The First Years, like Sassy, do use polycarbonate shields for their pacifiers.
One-piece silicone pacifiers offer one alternative. Playtex sells two-packs of their silicone, one-piece Binky pacifiers for under $5 on Amazon, and The First Years makes a popular Soothies silicone paci (available in blue and pink, as well as in a newborn size). And a post on Goody Blog pointed us to the cute designer silicone pacis shown at left.
The Sassy rep we spoke with stated that polycarbonate does not pose the same level of risk in pacifier shields because they are "not being heated or chewed." We find it hard to believe that parents the world over are not washing these tossed-about germ magnets in the dishwasher or in lots of hot, soapy water on a routine basis, and just because kids aren't actively chewing on the shields doesn't mean (a) that the shields don't see significant wear and (b) that BPA leached from the shield won't come into contact with an infant or toddler's mouth during all of that slobbering, drooling, and sucking.
Many parents and children will be happy with Gerber's ubiquitous and lovingly onomonopoeic Nuk line of pacifiers, and Gerber claims that these pacis are "orthopedic" and cause less overbite. Some feature nipples made of latex, which some infants prefer to silicone because it picks up odors and thus becomes "familiar." However, parents should be aware that routine exposure to latex has been identified as a leading contributor to the development of latex allergies.
Our recommendations? For an affordable, non-latex, BPA-free pacifier, the Playtex Binky and Gerber silicone NUKs look like the best deal around.
But if you find that your child will only take to a pacifier that also happens to have a polycarbonate shield, you can limit their potential exposure to BPA by replacing pacifiers frequently. Scientists agree that the greatest risk of BPA leaching lies in worn polycarbonate plastic or results from heating the plastic. And don't neglect the option of using nature's pacifier - your kid's thumb. The habit can be harder to kick than a pacifier which can be taken away when the dentist says it's time, but the comfort factor is the same, and gives infants greater control over when and whether they wish to suck.
