When researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München analyzed seven commercially available pacifiers in January 2026, every one released detectable bisphenol A (BPA). That includes all four labeled "BPA-free." The pacifier with the highest BPA migration, at 26,536 nanograms per item, carried a "BPA-free" mark on its packaging.
The study
"Migration of bisphenol A from commercially available pacifiers: HPLC-FLD analysis and exposure assessment in infants and toddlers," published January 24, 2026, in Environmental Science and Pollution Research International (volume 33, pages 1666--1676; DOI: 10.1007/s11356-026-37444-1). Authors: Lena Herwanger, Katharina Sternecker, Jan Kühnisch, Franz-Xaver Reichl, and Christof Högg, from the Department of Conservative Dentistry and the Department of Anatomy II at LMU University Hospital Munich.
The seven pacifiers came from manufacturers in Germany, China, and India. Researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, to measure BPA release under worst-case simulated conditions.
What it actually means
The legal meaning of "BPA-free" on a pacifier is narrow: no BPA was intentionally added during manufacturing. It is not a claim that the product was independently tested, nor that BPA is absent. BPA can enter nominally BPA-free products through residues from raw material suppliers, mold-release compounds used in production, and through bisphenol substitutes that co-occur in industrial polymer streams.
The range of BPA release in this study ran from 33 to 26,536 nanograms per pacifier. To put those numbers in context: the European Food Safety Authority revised its tolerable daily intake for BPA downward in 2023, from 4 micrograms to 0.2 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day. Under that current standard, even the lowest-migrating pacifier in the Munich study exceeded the limit by approximately 50-fold for a typical infant. The highest exceeded it by roughly 11,600-fold.
The study authors call for "harmonized EU regulation analogous to existing restrictions for feeding bottles and toys," noting that pacifiers currently have no equivalent BPA restriction despite substantially higher infant contact time. Pacifiers remain unregulated for BPA content in the United States as well.
In the home
A pacifier sits in an infant's mouth for hours each day, often from the first weeks of life through the second year. Unlike incidental contact with a food-storage container, use is continuous and daily. The authors describe pacifiers as "a relevant early-life source of BPA exposure" and flag the unreliability of voluntary BPA-free claims.
Polymer materials release more of their chemical constituents when exposed to heat. Sterilization by boiling is a common practice; steam sterilization and cold-water cleaning achieve the same microbiological goal at substantially lower temperatures and are the methods recommended by manufacturers of tested pacifiers.
What to do
One-piece construction matters. Multi-component pacifiers have plastic shields, rings, and handles that may be sourced separately from the teat and carry their own contamination risk. A one-piece food-grade silicone or natural rubber pacifier, from a brand that tests for BPA migration, reduces the exposure pathway considerably. For sterilization, following the manufacturer's recommendation (typically steam or cold rinse rather than boiling) is the practical step.
The Dr. Brown's HappyPaci One-Piece Silicone Pacifier (on Amazon) is one-piece platinum-cured silicone. The HEVEA Classic Natural Rubber Round Pacifier (on Hevea Planet) and Ecopiggy EcoPacifier Natural Rubber (on Ecopiggy) are natural rubber, which avoids polycarbonate-derived contamination routes.
The nontoxicnook pacifier guide covers all four pacifiers in our catalog that passed vetting, and our promise explains the criteria each had to meet.
Cover image: K F via Unsplash (Unsplash License), source.
