Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation
Li D, Shi Y, Yang L, Xiao L, Kehoe DK, Gun'ko YK, Boland JJ, Wang JJ (2020). Nature Food.
What they found
Polypropylene baby bottles released up to 16.2 million microplastic particles per litre during formula preparation. Sterilising and using hot water significantly increased release. Modelled exposure for infants up to 12 months ranged from 14,600 to 4,550,000 particles per day depending on region.
- Sample
- 10 polypropylene infant feeding bottle products; exposure modelled for 48 regions
- What it can't tell you
- Lab simulation following WHO preparation guidance, not measurement in fed infants. Particles were mostly very small flakes identified partly by indirect methods; counts depend on method. Exposure estimates combine sales and feeding assumptions. No health outcome measured. Formula vs water made no significant difference, so results reflect water and heat.
- Funding
- Not checked (full text inaccessible). Crossref lists Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and China Scholarship Council.
- Topics
- Baby and kids, Food, Packaging
- Checked against
- Abstract (Europe PMC, PMID 37128027); product count and method notes from Supplementary Information as recorded in our baby bottles article
Where we cite it
- A parent's guide to plastic, from pregnancy to primary school
- Microplastics in baby bottles: what the research actually shows
- Plastic in your coffee maker: pods, drip machines, espresso and kettles
- How microplastics are measured, and why the numbers disagree so wildly
- Plastic types #1 to #7: what each resin code means for your health and the bin
- Bottled water: you're paying extra for the plastic
- Plastic-free kitchen swaps, ranked by exposure