TBA
The Hidden Risks of Plastic Pouches for Baby Food. Greenpeace International is excited to announce the launch of their new report, Tiny Plastics, Big Problem: The Hidden Risks of Plastic Pouches for Baby Food
The report detailed the testing of popular plastic-pouched baby food brands Nestlé’s Gerber and Danone’s Happy Baby Organics, finding microplastic particles in every sample analyzed. The test also suggests that a range of chemicals were present in both the packaging and the food. This indicates that plastic packaging may be a source of contamination, exposing babies to thousands of microscopic plastic fragments with every pouch they consume.
Key findings are:
For every gram of baby food tested, researchers found up to 54 microplastic particles in Gerber pouches and up to 99 particles in Happy Baby Organics pouches, on average. That’s equivalent to as many as 270 (Gerber) and 495 (Happy Baby Organics) microplastics per teaspoon.
The study estimated a total of more than 5,000 in each Gerber pouch and more than 11,000 particles in each Happy Baby Organics pouch.
The study also identified a range of plastic-associated chemicals present in both the packaging and the food, including the presence of a potential endocrine disruptor in the Gerber samples tested.
The study suggests a link between polyethylene, the plastic the pouches are lined with, and some of the microplastics found in the baby food tested.
Today, millions of single-use pouches are purchased daily, meaning that millions of babies could be ingesting microplastics alongside their food. That’s why Greenpeace is calling for the following demands:
Nestlé, Danone, and all baby food producers must urgently investigate their products, prove they do not put young children at risk, and commit to phasing out plastic packaging for non-toxic, plastic-free, reusable alternatives.
Governments negotiating the UN Global Plastics Treaty must act urgently to ban these products, reduce plastic production, and end uncontrolled, unregulated plastic and chemical contamination that threatens human health.
Greenpeace will have a social media toolkit available on May 27th. Meanwhile, please help us spread this message widely to ensure Nestlé and Danone listen to customers and parents. Amplify our message on social media today.