The warmer the water in which powdered food is dissolved (or with which the bottle is sterilized), the more microplastics will be released. This has been shown by research from the University of Dublin in Ireland.
The researchers say emphatically that it is not known whether those tiny plastic particles affect the health of the baby. They think this should be investigated ‘urgently’.
Clean with cold, sterilized water
Parents are advised, among other things, to clean bottles with cold sterilized water. It is also better to prepare powdered milk in a container that is not made of plastic, so that it is not put in the bottle until it has cooled down. The use of a microwave is not recommended, as is shaking the bottle.
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Although the effects are therefore unknown, the researchers believe that some guidelines need to be adjusted. But ‘the last thing we want is to falsely alert parents’, says one of the researchers.
That looked at ten types of bottles and examined 12-month-old babies in 48 countries and regions. The results are published this month in the scientific journal Nature Food.
1.58 million particles per day
The potential exposure of babies to pieces of microplastic is greatest in Australia, the United States and Europe. That’s because mothers breastfeed less there than in other parts of the world.
Bottles of the commonly used plastic polypropylene can release up to 16 million pieces of microplastic per liter. On average, babies consume 1.58 million particles per day.
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