Baby bottles and dummies within EU regulation

(CS) Health minister Mars Di Bartolomeo has launched a search for alternatives to bottles and pacifiers sterilised with ethylene oxide after France withdrew the products from hospitals.

In answer to a concerned parliamentary question by Jean Colombera, Di Bartolomeo also said that no health risk was known at this point to be posed by the items in question.

On November 17, the French health minister Xavier Betrand demanded that baby bottles and dummies used in hospitals and sterilised with ethylene oxide be removed. Ethylene oxide is known to be a carcinogenic gas when used over regulation limits.

The gas is used to sterilise disposable hospital utensils following EU regulations.

The Luxembourg health ministry is nonetheless currently considering what action should be taken and has already asked hospitals across the country to search for alternatives. In the meantime the bottles and dummies will remain in use.

They are especially used with premature babies and babies suffering from immune deficiencies as their immune systems are particularly susceptible to bacteria. The products are not for sale to the general public in supermarkets or pharmacies.

While the main supply comes from Belgium, the bottles and dummies have not been banned there.

According to reports, however, there would appear to be a loophole in regulations, as bottles and dummies are considered disposable medical supplies and therefore treated with ethylene oxide, even though material treated with the gas should not come into contact with food.