Blenders and Food Processors: Potential Sources of BPA and Phthalates

In a effort to limit my family’s exposure to BPA and phthalates, I’ve tossed all those freebie plastic water bottles and replaced them with aluminum Sigg bottles.  I banned questionable toys.  I store and heat my leftovers in glass containers. I took down our cheap plastic shower curtain and put up a fabric one.  I even got rid of the rubber ducky. 

Frankly, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Until I saw a post this weekend at ZRecommends which shares the results of their research into which brands of food processors and blenders contain BPA, PVC, and phthalates.

As a quick refresher: bisphenol-A, or BPA, and phthalates, plasticisers used to soften PVC, are components found in many common plastics.  Studies have linked exposure to BPA and phthalates to hormonal issues such as early puberty and changes in breast tissue, as well as to some cancers.

And while I was well aware of their presence in toys, sippy cups, bottles, food storage containers, and a myriad of other places in the home, it really had never occurred to me that they might also be lurking within the devices I use for food preparation.

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ZRecommends points out that some companies were not forthcoming about the possibility of their blenders and food processors containing BPA, PVC, or phthalates, and therefore they had to form their own educated conclusions about some products listed:

ZRecs Guide listings are flagged with Chemicals of Concern - substances that may be present in the products - along with a Confidence Rating denoting our level of confidence in that particular chemical profile. A Confidence Rating of “low” means that we do not have much faith that we have the whole story - a product might not contain the Chemical of Concern it has been flagged with, or might contain others; a Confidence Rating of “high” means that we are highly confident we know the whole story, and would be quite surprised to learn otherwise.

However, their food prep guide is quite comprehensive.

The winners: the Beaba Babycook, a multifunctional device for preparing homemade baby food; the Vita-Mix 5200 blender; and Hamilton Beach’s Big Mouth Food Processors. All are BPA, PVC, and phthalate free.

My KitchenAid appliances, while very pretty, are not on the winner’s list.  In fact, both my blender and my food processor received the lowest ratings possible.

Check the food prep guide to see if your appliances contain any “ingredients of concern”.

Photo Credit: tiffanywashko under Creative Commons

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