Consumer Groups Call for Clearer EU Rules After Tests Detect BPA in Some Baby Pacifiers
“It is illogical that bisphenols are banned in baby bottles but not in pacifiers, which babies use more intensively,” a Czech consumer campaigner said.
Consumer safety organisations are urging the European Union to strengthen regulations governing baby pacifiers after laboratory testing detected bisphenol A (BPA) in some products and highlighted differences between existing regulatory standards.
The findings have renewed debate over the regulation of BPA, a chemical widely scrutinised because of concerns about its potential effects on human health. Consumer groups argue that current rules governing baby soothers are inconsistent with restrictions already applied to other infant products.
According to the manufacturers, testing carried out by independent laboratories has confirmed that certain products comply with applicable safety requirements. One manufacturer said additional tests undertaken by an internationally recognised testing, inspection and certification organisation found no detectable BPA across its range of soothers, including the product sample examined, confirming that the products are BPA-free.
Foshan City Saidah did not respond to requests for comment regarding the findings.
The Philips and Sophie la Girafe pacifiers remain available for sale in the United Kingdom, while the Curaprox and Foshan City Saidah products referred to in the testing have since been removed from the market.
Hana Hoffmannová, editor-in-chief of the Czech consumer organisation dTest’s magazine, said parents expect products intended for infants to meet the highest safety standards.
“Pacifiers are often one of the first items parents buy, and they do not expect to be exposing their children to hormone-disrupting chemicals from day one,” Hoffmannová said.
The testing has also drawn attention to differences between two European regulatory frameworks governing BPA limits for baby soothers.
The EN 1400 European standard establishes a migration limit of 10 micrograms per litre for BPA in baby pacifiers. However, the European Union’s Toy Safety Directive, which also applies to soothers, permits a migration limit of 40 micrograms per litre, creating uncertainty over which threshold should be applied in practice.
European legislation has progressively tightened restrictions on BPA in products intended for infants and young children. The use of BPA in baby bottles has been prohibited across the European Union since 2011. Those restrictions were expanded in 2018 to cover the manufacture of food containers and bottles designed for children under three years of age.
Campaigners argue that equivalent protections should be extended to baby pacifiers because of their prolonged and frequent use.
Karolína Brabcová of the Czech environmental organisation Arnika said the differing regulatory treatment of infant products lacks scientific consistency.
“It is illogical that bisphenols are banned in baby bottles but not in pacifiers, which babies use more intensively and in some cases for long years,” Brabcová said.
She added that existing regulations do not provide sufficient protection for consumers.
“We are seeing a lack of stringent regulation and it is failing consumers,” she said.
The debate has intensified calls from consumer advocates for European regulators to harmonise safety standards governing BPA exposure across all products intended for infants and young children.
