Babies fed with a plastic bottle can ingest more than 1 million pieces of microplastic every day. The warmer the water used to dissolve powdered food or sterilize the bottle, the more microplastic is released. It is not yet known how much effect this has on the health of a baby.
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That reports trade journal Vroeg. The research has been published in the scientific journal Nature Food. The possible health effects must be urgently investigated, according to the scientists.
The researchers looked at the exposure of children as young as 12 months to microplastics. Vials of the commonly used polypropylene can release up to 16 million pieces of microplastic per liter. On average, babies consume 1.58 million particles per day. The numbers are highest in Australia, the US and Europe. This is mainly because mothers breastfeed relatively little there.
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The researchers’ advice:
- Clean bottles with cold sterilized water and prepare milk powder in a container that is not made of plastic.
- Only put milk in the bottle when it has cooled down.
- The use of a microwave is not recommended, as is shaking the bottle.
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