You’ve prepared a healthy pita pocket stuffed with veggies and grilled organic chicken for your child’s lunch. Now what do you pack it in? A plastic baggie? A Tupperware container? It’s difficult to escape plastic these days, but a growing body of evidence suggests that you should try to. That’s because the chemical Bisphenol A (commonly known as BPA)–used to polycarbonate many plastic food containers, food packaging and water bottles–can leach into your food. Indeed the leaching of BPA, has been implicated in numerous ailments, from obesity, diabetes and heart disease to infertility, breast and prostate cancer and neuro-behavioral disorders in children such as ADHD.

Figuring out how to limit your family’s exposure to BPA is complicated, says Frederick S. vom Saal, a noted researcher in reproductive biology at the University of Missouri. While some manufacturers label items as “BPA-free,” plastic manufacturers are not required by law to label plastic products that contain BPA. And plastic is everywhere—our children’s cheese snacks are wrapped in the stuff; the water we drink often comes from plastic bottles; even organic blueberries and strawberries come in plastic boxes. Professor vom Saal’s rule of thumb: “If the plastic is hard and clear and it doesn’t say it’s BPA-free, throw it out.” If you want to err on the side of caution, consider these attractive BPA-free containers for your child’s lunch–and yours.

Here are some tips to get up to speed fast on the plastics question. Numbers can be found on the bottom of most plastic containers, which can help explain what's in them.  Click here for a guide to Plastics By the Numbers.

In general, moms, even working celebrity moms like actress Melissa Joan Hart (in photo) want what's best for their kids. Like her, you can choose BPA-free containers. Working Mother suggests you consider these attractive alternatives that won’t harm your child, or the environment. See gallery.