The description on Amazon and manufacturer web page does not mention anything about being BPA free. I contacted the manufacturer and confirmed it is actually BPA free. That information is on the packing.
I tried to mash food using a spoon and it's not as easy as I thought. I like this masher. It's perfect when I only want to prepare one serving of baby food and feed my baby right away. It only takes ~30 seconds to mash one serving of food. Easy to wash, too.
This was the perfect item to mash up food to give to our 11 month old. We have tried a few other products that didn't come close to this in terms of ease of use, effectiveness, and ease of cleaning. Some things I like about this product:
The pieces are dishwasher safe which makes clean up easy.
The bowl has a rubber bottom which makes it slip resistant.
There are grooves in the bowl the provide a nice amount friction for mashing up foods.
It is sturdy and durable.
We have used this for about a month with all kinds of foods: pasta, meats, beans, fruits, veggies, etc. For the cost, I cannot recommend picking up this product enough you will not be disappointed. It more than easily pays for itself in money saved from buying less jars of baby food!
UPDATE:
over 6 months later and we have pretty much stopped using this product as our son is old enough (and has enough teeth) to not need most foods mashed up. Although, he does enjoy potatoes and other veggies mashed up still...so it still gets some occasional use.
This has held up through the entire time we used it and it will be ready to go for our next child! I stand by my original review of this product it was a HUGE help for feeding our son all sorts of table food for many months.
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I love this food masher! We started feeding my son solid foods at 6 months. By that age he didn't need to eat watery cereal and could eat thicker purees. Some foods, like bananas and strawberries, can be mashed up as is. Some foods, like apples and pears, mash up really well once they are steamed. When he was about 9 months old we started putting whatever we were eating into the masher and it worked out perfectly. We put in pastas, stews, chicken and rice, spaghetti...all mashable! You can even take it to restaurants with you! Rather than spending money on a Baby Bullet, get a few of these!
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The Nuk Bowl and Masher works great for mashing soft fruit and veggies with ease. The masher handle is more comfortable for a smaller/leaner hand like mine than for my husband who has larger/thicker hands. The bowl handle and base helps keep it steady and the groove lines inside lets you grind the food smoothly but still with texture. Clean-up is quite easy as well.
I was quite surprise how small it was when I first received it, but it worked out fine because I wasn't planning on making large quantities. Measurement-wise: Handle is 3" wide and 4" long. Bowl is approx. 4.25" at opening and 2" deep. The bowl holds approx. 1 cup of mash food.
There are 4 symbols indicated on the bottom of the bowl.
RECYCLE PLASTIC #7 with code PP/TPE (polypropylene) underneath
The CUP AND FORK symbol for plastic is safe for contact with food
A CROSSED-OUT THERMOMETER symbol with 60 degrees Celsius = 140 degrees Fahrenheit next to it
A CLOCK symbol for when it was manufactured
Now there is some confusion here to the #7 plastic code. Typically #7 is not use with food storage because it considered unsafe. This is because often a # "7" on the bottom in the recycling triangle means the material is polycarbonate, but NOT always. Polycarbonate is the plastic that is made from the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA.) However the PP code underneath indicates that it is made with polypropylene which is mostly use for tupperware/food storage container marked under code #5, which is safe. Base on my research, whether the code was printed correctly or not, one can only assume that it is made from plastic #7 but from polypropylene and does NOT contain polycarbonate since it's marked as BPA-FREE.
Whether or not the bowl and masher are dishwasher/microwave safe you should use it at your own desertion. There is NO symbol indicating that it is microwave or dishwasher-safe. I would rather be safe then sorry. There has never been the need for me to put it in the microwave since my fruits and veggies were pre-cut then boiled in a small sauce pot or defrosted in a separate bowl. I never had to use the dishwasher either because I always quickly rinse it under hot water and leave it in a Dish Pan Basin soaking in soapy water with all of the other baby tableware. Never like the idea of mixing our dishes, which contains grease, with the baby's bowls and bottles.
The bottom-line:
I think this bowl/masher set is a wonderful tool for making small portion of fresh mash food for babies who have most of their teeth and are already learning to chew and swallow thicker food. It is easy to use and clean. I am not worried about the #7 recycling code bc at the end I will (A) never microwave the bowl, whether it is BPA-free or not, (B) I am not using the bowl as a tableware so my baby never will be chewing on it, (C) I will not store food in it for a long period of time. It was meant for mashing fruit and veggies quickly and it does just that.
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I was about to wash and use this product for my baby when I saw at the bottom of the bowl that the plastic recycling sign was #7. I read that #7 is a catch-all category and it may mean it's an ok plastic if it's one of those new biobased plastics. I called the toll-free number listed on the package and was told that the product is made of polypropylene TPE. I read in a few books that it is best to stick to #1, #2, #4 and #5 plastics for babies, so I don't think I will take a chance with this product. It looks like a really good product though and I'm sure it would have been very useful, if not for the #7. I'm giving this a 3-star to be "neutral" since I haven't used this product and can't tell if it's good or not.
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the apple/grape combination is another munchkin approved product. we've tried apple-apple, apple-banana, apple-peach, apple-mango, apple-strawberry, apple-cinnamon and they are all wonderful. my daughter is allowed to pack her own lunch which usually consist of a either lunchable or a sandwich, her apple sauce pouch, vege(carrot sticks or grape tomatoes) and juice. the lunch + recess schedule for 1st grader is only about a total of 15 minutes so when she wants to play, she'll eat her main meal, some vege and drinker her juice in the cafeteria. since the pouch is self contained, she takes it outside and eat it on the go.
