Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, but will continue to allow its use in plastic bottles used by adults.
The FDA’s decision was less dramatic than it may appear, since manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups had already stopped using the controversial industrial chemical.
Government regulators said in 2008 that BPA was safe, but started having doubts two years later. Still, the FDA insisted its decision was not safety-related—merely that it was honoring a request from the American Chemistry Council, which wanted to boost consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, beverages consumed by adults will still be packaged in bottles made with BPA, which can leach into food, according to studies.
“The F.D.A. is slowly making progress on this issue, but they are doing the bare minimum here,” Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, told The New York Times. “They are instituting a ban that is already in effect voluntarily.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
F.D.A. Makes It Official: BPA Can’t Be Used in Baby Bottles and Cups (by Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times)
FDA: BPA No Longer Allowed in Baby Bottles (by Matthew Perrone, Associated Press)
FDA Refuses to Ban BPA from Food Containers (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)
Can of Del Monte Green Beans Sets Toxic BPA Record (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
White House Delayed Regulation of Controversial Chemical after Meeting with Lobbyists (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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