Ms Frances Ngo, 31, a housewife, has been trying to stay away from plastics as much as possible since her mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.
Having read that plastics are bad for health during her days as an undergraduate in chemical engineering, her mother-in-law's cancer brought home the message of the importance of health.
Since then, she has avoided using plastic bags, uses paper to wrap vegetables at the market and buys food in glass containers, just to be extra careful.
Recent concerns about the use of plastics in the United States and Canada suggest that Ms Ngo is not going overboard in her aversion to plastics.
Earlier this year, Environment California Research & Policy Centre released a paper titled Toxic Baby Bottles.
It conducted a study which showed that leaching of bisphenol-A from clear plastic baby bottles does occur at levels that caused adverse effects in the animals experimented on.
Bisphenol-A is a chemical found in plastic baby bottles, microwaveable plastic food containers and the lining of tin cans containing food and drinks.
Plastics that use it are identified by a triangular symbol for recycling with the number seven in it. Plastics containing bisphenol-A are very popular among manufacturers because it is shatterproof and does not leave a taste of the plastic.
In studies conducted on rats by universities in the US, Canada and Japan, very small doses of bisphenol-A resulted in adverse effects, such as obesity, early onset of puberty, sperm defects and increased risks of breast and prostate cancer.
This is because the chemical acts as a substitute for the female hormone, oestrogen, in the body. It 'interferes with the normal process of signalling that is critical for the healthy growth, development, and function of the human body', said the California group.
The report surmised that the bleaching of bisphenol-A from consumer products can lead to similar consequences among humans as well because animal studies can be good gauges for identifying health risks for humans.
Are the claims real?
Exposure to the chemical is more dangerous for growing children as they are physiologically more vulnerable to toxic chemicals.
After the media caught on to the report , sales of glass bottles flew through the roof. Evenflo Company, one of the few makers of glass bottles, had its product selling out across North America by early May according to sales representative Harold Bickerstaff.
Sales of bisphenol-A-free baby bottles, such as Born Free LLC, are also rising.
Meanwhile, manufacturers of bisphenol-A, including major chemical companies, reject the claims made about its toxicity, citing studies done by regulatory authorities as proof.
Indeed, the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), the US Food and Drug Administration and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have not found any convincing evidence to ban bisphenol-A. Efsa even upped the limit of bisphenol-A that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without any risk, to five times its previous limit.
Efsa suggested that humans metabolise and excrete bisphenol-A more quickly than rodents. This means that the studies done on the latter might not be relevant for humans.
In Singapore, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has given a stamp of approval for the plastic.
A study by the AVA on the leaching of bisphenol-A from different brands of polycarbonate baby milk bottles showed that 'the oral exposure to the leached bisphenol-A from actual use of the milk bottles does not present a health risk to infants', said Mr Goh Shih Yong, assistant director of corporate communications at AVA.
But that has not deterred a local pharmacy, Pharmaplus, from bringing in bisphenol-A-free (B. free) baby bottles two months ago, though awareness among parents is still low, according to Dr Goh Suan Choo, its general manager.
The bottles are made of PES (polyethersulfone) plastic, which is free from bisphenol-A.
Dr Lily Neo, a Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC, said it was not proven if the toxicity of bisphenol-A is for real.
But she said: 'I'm happy that there are other alternatives. These give more choice and peace of mind to parents who are concerned.'
If you feel rattled by the conflicting results and want to be extra careful, Pharmaplus is organising a recycling-cum-charity drive from this month to September at the lobby of Camden Medical Centre. You can exchange your existing polycarbonate plastic baby bottle for a B. free twin-pack at $29.90 ($5 off the regular price), of which $1 will go to the Children's Cancer Foundation.
Environment California Research & Policy Centre is California's leading advocacy group for environment issues. It has taken the lead in promoting clean and affordable energy and reducing toxic pollution.
It is a sister organisation of Environment California, which has worked for 30 years to protect California's environment and ban toxic chemicals such as polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs).
