Fact sheet

Summary

It’s widely recognized that breast milk is the ideal food source for infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least the first six months of a baby’s life.

As Toxic-Free Future has previously reported, toxic chemicals from plastics, consumer products, and pollution can end up as breast milk contaminants. A study on endocrine-disrupting chemicals in breast milk, by Toxic-Free Future in collaboration with scientists at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and others, adds to this concerning evidence base.

In this 2026 study, researchers found several endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, in breast milk samples collected from women in the United States. The chemical industry produces and sells these chemicals in high volumes for common household materials and products, including plastics, personal care products, food contact materials, and more. EDCs are associated with developmental and reproductive toxicity and lifelong harm. The study found that breast milk is a concerning exposure pathway for EDCs among nursing infants.

While breast milk remains the best food for babies, the study adds to the evidence that urgent action is needed to protect women, infants, and children from harmful chemicals like EDCs.

What we found

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs): Chemicals of Concern

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are individual chemicals or mixtures that interfere with the natural function of hormones inside of our bodies. Exposure to EDCs comes from air, water, food, household dust, pollution, consumer products, plastics, and other sources.

The chemicals tested in this study include bisphenols, melamine and related chemicals, and triclosan. These chemicals are used extensively in a wide range of products and materials, including plastics, food and beverage packaging, dishware, personal care products, textiles, paper receipts, household products, and other consumer and industrial uses.

Where are the EDCs used?

Bisphenols are used in polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins, food and beverage packaging, and thermal receipt paper.
Melamine is another synthetic chemical with many applications, including plastics, hard plastic dishware, household products, flame retardants, and fertilizers.
Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent used in plastics, hand-sanitizers, toothpaste, and products in medical settings. Plastic items with “anti-microbial” or “anti-bacterial” claims may contain triclosan, such as food containers, cutting boards, yoga mats, children’s toys, and bedding.

How can EDCs harm our health?

The endocrine system creates and releases hormones responsible for orchestrating many sensitive biological processes that are critical to our health. EDCs can interfere with the endocrine system and are linked to adverse health outcomes, including reproductive and developmental disorders, cancers, metabolic conditions like obesity and diabetes, and neurological problems.

EDCs are particularly dangerous to infants and children and can lead to lifelong harm, as early life is a time of sensitive hormone-driven development. Scientists are especially concerned about EDCs because they have been found to be harmful at very low levels of exposure.

How we solve this

Market and policy solutions

Policymakers, manufacturers, and retailers should act to protect women, infants, children, and communities by preventing the use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can wind up in people and breast milk.

Strong laws at the state and federal level along with corporate policies should follow the Essential Elements, which include:

Corporate and Government Responsibility: Strong policies that put health first should set clear goals, ban highly toxic chemicals and plastics, require transparency, incentivize safer solutions, and hold polluters accountable.

Transparency: People have a right to know what chemicals are in products. Full ingredient disclosure and publicly available assessments of how toxic chemicals are used should be the norm, so safer choices can be made across the supply chain. Transparency is the foundation for healthier food, water, products, and communities.

Ban the Bad: Some chemicals and plastics are simply too dangerous to keep using, so they must be phased out. This includes the highly toxic chemicals found in breast milk including bisphenols, PFAS, toxic flame retardants, and plastics of high concern (e.g., melamine).

Safer Solutions: Businesses, governments, and institutions should invest in developing and scaling safer alternatives—backed by publicly available assessments of how toxic they are, so we don’t replace one toxic chemical with another. And there needs to be less plastic and chemicals overall.

Accountability: Communities should not bear the health and cleanup costs of toxic pollution. Corporations must be held accountable for the chemicals they make and use. Governments must adopt and enforce strong laws to protect health.

Solutions are already working.

Strong policies and market leadership are already reducing toxic chemicals in products and driving safer solutions.

Washington state is leading on regulating EDCs and other harmful chemicals and driving safer products. Washington’s comprehensive health-first law, Safer Products for Washington, gives state agencies the authority to require transparency and ban toxic chemicals in products, plastics, and packaging. The state has adopted numerous strong regulations on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other chemicals of concern, including PFAS, bisphenols, phthalates, and flame retardants in a wide range of consumer products.
Retailers are helping shift the marketplace. Many leading retailers have restricted EDCs in various consumer products, including phthalates in vinyl flooring and beauty products, flame retardants in furniture and electronics, and bisphenols in thermal receipt paper. Learn about which retailers are leading and which are lagging on toxic chemicals in our Retailer Report Card (see the tables titled Ban the Bad Goals and Ban the Bad Progress).
States are adopting policies on EDCs and other harmful chemicals. More than a dozen states have enacted policies to ban the entire class of PFAS used in products, from food packaging and textiles to firefighting foam. To date, 14 states have banned BPA in children’s products. California is currently pursuing legislation to ban all bisphenols in receipts and food packaging, while New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are pursuing legislation to remove bisphenols and other toxic substances from packaging. Washington, Oregon, and Vermont have bans on triclosan in personal care products and cosmetics and Minnesota bans it in hand sanitizers and soaps.

What you can do to protect your family

No one should have to shop their way out of toxic exposures. Still, there are steps people can take to reduce exposure to EDCs and other harmful chemicals while policymakers, manufacturers, and retailers work toward safe solutions.

Reduce plastics overall, especially in the kitchen (dishware, utensils, bottles, children’s products, cutting boards). Try to use wood, stainless steel for cooking, ceramic plates, and glass for storage. Glass baby bottles are a good option, as well as stainless steel sports water bottles. Be aware that melamine can be lurking in bamboo or wheatstraw tableware.
Opt for fresh vegetables, fruits, and dried beans over canned foods. Also, avoid food or beverage cans that can be lined with bisphenols or other plastic linings.
Skip paper receipts and ask for email receipts when possible. Bisphenols can also rub off on money. Limit handling receipts and wash hands after handling receipts and money.
Avoid anti-bacterial products with triclosan and triclocarban on ingredient labels for hand sanitizers and toothpaste. Also watch for “anti-bacterial” and “anti-microbial” market claims for plastic items, from cutting boards and food containers to yoga mats and toys.
Avoid highly fragranced products like cleaners, plug-ins, and candles. Try products certified by Safer Choice that have been evaluated to ensure safer chemicals.