Originally published on Mamavation: September 21, 2022
Which BPA-free blenders have the safest food contact surfaces in terms of hormonal health? Anything touching the food you serve your family can leach additives, so it’s important to purchase small kitchen appliances using the safest food contact surfaces. Mamavation found over 60 popular blenders and after contacting the companies, we put together a guide to help you find the safest blenders for hormonal health.
You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like best cookware sans PFAS “forever chemicals,” best air fryers without PFAS coatings, and safest collagen, now join us for an investigation on the best personal blender and the safety of food contact surfaces.
Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. This post also contains affiliate links.
Toxic Tricks to Look Out for When Shopping for a Safer Blender
Do you need to add ice cubes, spinach, and kale to that smoothie you are working on? In terms of small kitchen appliances, assessing the safety is all about the food contact surfaces.
The pitcher and the vortex with blades are the most important parts of your blender because they touch your food, but don’t also forget the food contact surfaces in the interior of the blender. If you don’t want anything made with problematic additives to be in contact with your meal, you want safe food contact surfaces.
Especially if you are making smoothies, soup, sauces, nut butters, or dips, using a blender that doesn’t complicate your food with toxic chemicals is recommended. So what should you look out for? Well, based on our investigation of over 60 products, we found some toxic-free tricks.
The good news is we looked into the blender categories many years ago and “best” options have improved significantly. But we did find some things to be wary of that we will alert you to below.
• Mystery plastic — In terms of evaluating over 50 blenders, what we found the most troubling was brands that did not identify what types of plastic they were using for food contact surfaces. So this category could literally be made of anything, but most of those things are not considered safe plastics. If a brand does not tell you what the food contact surfaces are on their website, you may want to avoid that product.
• Bisphenol A (BPA) plastic — These chemicals are from the bisphenol family and are classified as hormone disruptors because they can disrupt your everyday hormonal processes. And they are common, like really common. In fact, over 93% of the population tests positive for BPA.
Bisphenols, like BPA, are linked to weight gain, infertility, early puberty, complications during IVF fertilization, hyperactivity in children, lowering vitamin D in the body, irregular heartbeat, diabetes, inflammation, oxidative stress, breast and prostate cancers.
In a recent study, researchers provide the first evidence challenging the widely held assumption that regulatory agencies have been accurately measuring chemicals like BPA in humans. So how much BPA are humans really being exposed to?
Researchers are proposing that consumers are being exposed to 44x more BPA than what was originally estimated by the Food and Drug Administration. We can celebrate that most blenders are no longer made from any bisphenol chemicals.
◦ Tritan plastic — the new BPA-free plastic in blenders — Eastman, the manufacturer of Tritan copolyester, has posted safety information on their website which provides details on its estrogenic activity (EA)-free testing methods and results, however, in 2013 the scientific peer-reviewed journal Food Chemistry tested Tritan and discovered the migration of DMIP (dimethyl isophthalate), BBP (benzyl butyl phthalate) and detectable BPA from Tritan.
Two other non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), 4-nonylphenol and 2-phenoxyethanol, were also found to leach from Tritan during this testing. In addition, Biomed Central’s Environmental Health journal conducted testing that showed estrogenic activity present in 3 Tritan resins with exposure to UV radiation in natural sunlight resulting in an increased release of EA chemicals.
The journal also states that triphenyl-phosphate (TPP), an additive used to manufacture some thermoplastic resins such as Tritan, exhibited EA in both testing assays.
Additionally, Mother Jones notes that the 200-plus samples of Tritan resins that were tested consistently leached estrogen-like chemicals after being exposed to a type of ultraviolet ray found in sunlight (UVA) and another kind that some parents use to sterilize baby bottles (UVC). In some cases, samples that hadn’t even been exposed to UV light also seeped estrogenic compounds.
You’ll find competing studies, but this type of plastic has not been recommended to us by the Food Packaging Forum, so we do not officially recommend it. However, in terms of some small kitchen appliances like blenders or water filters, the vast majority of the industry has gone to Tritan plastic because it is an alternative to BPA. Time will tell if this is a regrettable substitution.
◦ Still want to use Tritan? Here are some tricks — But what if you REALLY want a blender made of Tritan plastic? Here are some things we recommend to help you think through leaching with plastic products. Leaching happens when heat, fat, and high acidity. So you want to lessen those opportunities in the following ways:
▪ Avoid putting hot ingredients into plastic food contact surfaces, like hot soup. Heat increases the chances of leaching.
▪ Avoid putting high-fat ingredients like cream or butter in plastic food contact surfaces. Fat increases the chances of leaching. Fat acts as a great transporter for lots of plasticizer additive-type chemicals.
▪ Avoid putting high acidic foods into the blender like tomatoes or citrus fruits.
▪ If you have a Vitamix, don’t worry. They have a new stainless steel cup now.
You Get What You Pay for with Nontoxic BPA-Free Blenders
It used to be hard to find a high-quality nontoxic blender, because blenders used to be made from highly endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA). Luckily through safety studies and intense activism, today we do not find many blenders using BPA plastics anymore. However, we are still finding several brands not identifying the type of plastic they were using. If you skip all plastic completely and go to glass or stainless steel, you’ll have a nontoxic blender.
You want a stainless steel blade, powerful motors, manual controls, pre-programmed settings, pulse function, some food processor attachments, and the ability to make really good milkshakes or green smoothies. But you also want a blender that can work with tough ingredients like different vegetables while still delivering on consistency.
The truth is in terms of glass blenders, you get what you pay for. This is why we will be listing the list price for you as well so you can make those decisions easier. Most of the time, the more they cost, the higher quality they are more likely to be. Not all the time, but most of the time.
Mamavation’s Investigation on Safest Blenders for Hormonal Health
Need a powerful blender that doesn’t disrupt your hormones? Mamavation looked at over 60 blender products and paid close attention to food contact surfaces to rate each product. We did not look at immersion blenders or food processor machines.
We also did not evaluate all the accessories that come with the blender, so our ratings have nothing to do with any attachment, to-go lids, or the blender’s jar. Most products are considered dishwasher-safe and can be cleaned with a drop of dish soap. Here’s our safer dish soap investigation here.
• Not our favorite blenders — These blender products were either not transparent with their food contact surfaces or they had food contact surfaces made with bisphenols like BPA or BPS. We do not recommend you purchase from these brands.
- Bella 12-Piece Rocket Blender
- Bella 1HP 2 in 1 Blender
- Ninja Foodi Hot and Cold
- Ommo Blender 1800W
- Thermomix (you can use it as a blender)
• Better BPA-free blenders — You can purchase these brands with some caution. These blenders have food contact surfaces made from BPA-free Tritan. Tritan plastic has not been approved by our advisors. Unfortunately, the entire blender industry has decided to use Tritan plastics.
Therefore, if you purchase from this list, we recommend (1) not pouring hot liquids into the blender, (2) not pouring high-fat contents like whole milk or buttermilk into the blender, (3) not pouring highly acidic foods into the blender like tomatoes or citrus fruits, and (4) never putting your blender in the dishwasher. Those types of actions increase the risk of leaching plasticizer additives into your food.
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Americana by Elite EPB399C Glass Mason Jar Blender (blender’s jar) |
Bear Countertop Blender |
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Breville The Fresh and The Furious |
GE Blender |
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Hamilton Beach 67608A Big Mouth Pro 800 Watt Juice Extractor |
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Hurom Hexa Power High-Speed Blender |
KitchenAid K400 with Glass Jar |
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Ninja TWISTi, High-Speed Blender Duo SS151 |
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NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender 1500W NBF50420 |
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• Best BPA-free blenders — These blenders have food contact surfaces that are made of glass instead of plastic. You can safely pour hot or high-fat contents into these blenders.
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Black+Decker BL10450H Crush Master 10-Speed Blender with Glass Jar $100 |
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Black+Decker Countertop Blender w/ 5-Cup Glass Jar and 10-Speed Settings BL2010BG $36 |
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Black+Decker PowerCrush Blender with PerfectPour Glass Jar BL121ORG $60 |
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Black+Decker PowerCrush Multi-Function Glass Jar Blender $40 |
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Braun JB7350 with Thermal Resistant Glass (unavailable) |
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Cuisinart SmartPower™ 7 Speed Electronic Blender |
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Cuisinart SmartPower™ Duet 500 Watt Blender/Food Processor |
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Instant Pot Ace Blender (unavailable) |
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Instant Pot Ace Nova $169 |
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Luvele Vibe Stainless Steel Blender |
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Oster 2-in-1 Blender System with Blend-n-Go Cup 2142919 |
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Oster 6844 6-Cup Glass Jar 12-Speed Blender (unavailable) |
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Oster Blender Pro 1200 |
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Oster Easy-to-Use Blender with 5-Speeds 2121569 |
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Oster Master Series Blender 2113744 |
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Oster Pro 500 3-Speed Blender |
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Oster Pulverizing Power Blender with High-Speed Motor 2131733 |
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Vitamix Parts (Stainless Steel Container) Fits Specific Blenders $170 |
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Waring Commercial Brand Bar Blender |
Additional Mamavation Investigations to Help Your Family
Mamavation also has many investigations on additional themes that will help guard your family’s health. We just helped you purchase the perfect blender, but we have so much more to offer you!
In fact, Mamavation has been working hard to discover where to find PFAS “forever chemicals” inside food and other products we purchase and bring inside our homes. This is why we have decided to commission our own consumer studies on indications of PFAS in different consumer categories and share that information with you.
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Nut butters (peanut butter, etc.) |
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Cooking oils (olive oil, almond oil, canola oil, etc.) |
Activewear (yoga pants) |
We also have other nontoxic investigations on products for your children or the rest of your family. Here are some that we thought you may like.
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Best electrolyte replacement drinks, sports drinks and coconut water |
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About the Author
Leah Segedie is the President and Founder of Mamavation.com. Mamavation produces award-winning content and independent consumer studies examining the intersection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and everyday products brought into American households. She’s been referred to by many as “the real FDA.”
Since 2008, Mamavation has been helping everyday moms navigate the grocery store by commissioning consumer studies on food, beverages, personal care products and other such products and thus democratizing science and testing for everyone.
