We’ve gotten it out of paint and gasoline because of its links to birth defects and mental retardation. Says Health Canada, “Exposure to lead may have subtle effects on the intellectual development of infants and children. Infants and toddlers are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead because they are undergoing a period of rapid development; furthermore, their growing bodies absorb lead more easily and excrete lead less efficiently than adults. In addition, infants and young children are more likely to ingest lead because of their natural habit of putting objects into their mouths.

“Once in the body, lead circulates in the blood and either builds up in bone or is eliminated from the body, mostly in urine. Lead can stay in the body for over 30 years following exposure.”

So the message should be: don’t use lead, and especially don’t eat it.

Yet updated research from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found noticeable amounts of lead in over 400 brands of lipstick, including Revlon, Clinique, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Cover Girl, and Estee Lauder.  FDA says that it is not concerned because lipstick is a “topical” product that is not intended to be “ingested.” In other words, the agency is acting as if lipstick stays on lips.

But if you wear lipstick, you know that’s not true. We lick our lips all day long, which means that we’re eating lipstick all day long, and applying it all day long, too.

Besides, says Mark Mitchell, M.D., MPH, the policy advisor of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice and co-chair of the Environmental Health Task Force for the National Medical Association, lead “builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels.”

In January, reports Forbes, an advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared there is no safe level of lead for children and stressed the importance of preventing lead exposure for kids and pregnant women. While lipstick is not sold to children, if you’re a mother, aunt, grandmother, or babysitter, you know how hard it can be to keep kids away from make-up, especially lipstick.

To be clear, the cosmetics companies are not intentionally adding lead to their product forumulations. But because lead is so prevalent in air, water, and minerals, it can appear as a trace contaminant in the raw ingredients companies use in manufacturing.

If you want to buy lipstick, here are 11 brands that tested lead-free in 2007. Note that many are made by companies you’ll recognize, like Avon, and are very affordable.

The post Lead-Free Lipstick? Well…duh! appeared first on Big Green Purse.

It is time to ban Bisphenyl-A. In fact, banning Bisphenyl-A is long overdue.

This toxic chemical, also known as BPA, can make kids sick. Previous studies have indicated that BPA can cause baby boys to be born with short penises that could ultimately make reproduction difficult when the boys become men. A study released yesterday in the journal Pediatrics links the toxin to behavioral and emotional problems in toddler girls.

That study tracked 244 moms in Cincinnati and their 3-year old children. The study concluded that children of mothers whose urine contained high levels of BPA were more likely to be hyperactive, aggressive, anxious, or depressed. The behavior of girls appears to be more affected than the behavior of boys in this case, perhaps because BPA mimics the female hormone estrogen, which is thought to influence behavioral development.

Moms, pediatricians, and many consumer groups have been up in arms against BPA for years. The toxin, which helps harden plastic like the kind used for baby bottles and no-spill sippy cups, is also used to line the inside of food and soda cans. Women, using the power of their purse, were able to successfully pressure the manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups to eliminate BPA; many reusable water bottle makers have followed suit.

Unfortunately, most canned foods and drinks still come in cans tainted with BPA.

It’s time to rid all food packaging of this dangerous chemical. BPA should not be allowed in food packages produced in the U.S., and it should not be allowed in food packages imported into the U.S., either.

Eleven states, including California, Minnesota and Maryland, have already put their own bans in place, while France has prohibited BPA use in food packaging, as well. The U.S. should institute a nationwide ban as soon as possible.

That decision is up to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA is already in the process of determining whether BPA should be eliminated from baby bottles – even though industry, in response to consumer pressure, has already taken that step. FDA should widen its focus to include any container used to package food and drinks.

What you can do now:

You can protect yourself and your family by:

* choosing fresh food or food and drinks packaged in glass bottles, not cans or plastic bottles

* use reusable water bottles that clearly say “BPA free”

* make sure your kids only use cups, bottles, and toys clearly marked “BPA free”

Also: Sign this petition from MomsRising asking the Food and Drug Administration to ban BPA in infant formula packaging.

Related Posts:

How to Protect Your Family from Bisphenyl-A

BPA Banned from Baby Bottles. What About Other Chemicals and Other Products?

Fresh Food Wins Again

Little Girls Are Worrying About Bras When They Should Still be Playing with Play Dough

The post It’s Time to Ban BPA appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Here’s a quick run-down on how to stay safe from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, as well as a list of reasonable options if you still want to eat tomatoes this summer.

What You Can Eat, What to Avoid:

Avoid raw red plum, raw red Roma, and raw red round tomatoes that have NOT been grown in the following states:

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida (counties of: Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, DeSoto, Sarasota, Highlands, Pasco, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Charlotte)*
Georgia
Hawaii
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Nebraska
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Belgium
Canada
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Israel
Netherlands
Puerto Rico
* Shipments of tomatoes harvested in these counties are acceptable with a certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Eat:

Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes still on the vine appear to be safe to eat. Canned (that is, processed) or bottled foods like grocery-store tomato juice and spaghetti sauce are also safe if they were processed by a commercial food-processing facility.

Be wary of fresh salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, and other prepared foods that contain tomatoes. Ask the proprietor of the store or restaurant to verify the source of the tomatoes they use. If you’re unsure that the tomatoes are safe, says the FDA’s food safety chief, Dr. David Acheson, “don’t eat them.”

Get Treatment Immediately

People who have eaten food contaminated with Salmonella often have fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Infection with Salmonella also may be more serious or fatal in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. If you suspect Salmonella poisoning, seek medical help immediately.

Know How Salmonella Spreads

Salmonella lives in the intestinal tracts of some animals, and can survive in soil and water for months. Once Salmonella has contaminated something, it can be spread from surface to surface. A tomato contaminated with Salmonella can spread the bacterium to the hands of a person who cuts the tomato and to the cutting board on which the tomato is sliced, for example. Because Salmonella is very hard to wash off, the FDA says consumers should not try to wash tomatoes that are implicated in the outbreak. Instead, throw these tomatoes out.

Consumers should not attempt to cook potentially contaminated tomatoes, either. Handling tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella can spread the bacterium to anything the handler touches, including hands, kitchen utensils, cutting boards, sinks, and other foods. Plus, cooking tomatoes in the home will not necessarily kill Salmonella.

What About Tomatoes from Farmers’ Markets and Other Locally Grown Sources?

Before you buy tomatoes from the local farmers’ market, make sure the tomatoes were indeed grown locally. Farmers’ markets get their tomatoes from a variety of sources that are not necessarily limited to local farms. These other sources may include the same ones that provided the tomatoes implicated in the Salmonella outbreak. Ask retailers at farmers’ markets where their tomatoes come from to be sure they haven’t been grown in a state where salmonella is present.

That being said, chances may be higher that tomatoes grown at your local farmers’ market are safe. Find the nearest farmers’ market at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s website.

To find farmers that sell direct to consumers look here.

To find food grown in your community, check with Local Harvest here.

Want to grow your own? There’s still time to plant and harvest tomatoes. You can put them in big pots on your porch or patio, or in a backyard garden. Get organic gardening tips here.

And if you want to plant a garden but have no room at your own home or apartment, try a community garden. If it’s too late for this year, get on the waiting list for this fall or next spring.

The post How to Find Safe Tomatoes appeared first on Big Green Purse.