FDA announced on Monday that they expect to rule by November on bisphenol A (BPA)'s safety for use in food and beverage containers. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg will make the decision following the completion of a review by government scientists of all available studies on BPA, including over 100 new studies on the chemical, many of which have been covered here over the past year.
The timeline was criticized by some environmental activists who say the government has had more than enough time to consider the chemical's effects.
[...]
The FDA ruled last August that BPA was safe for all use. The FDA's own advisory board rejected the ruling, noting that it was based on two studies, both of which had been financed by the plastics industry.
Canada and a handful of US States and localities have already banned use of the substance in baby bottles, and others are currently considering doing so.
Bisphenol A is a known endocrine disruptor commonly used in the production of many household items, from baby bottles to plastic food containers to soup cans to dental fillings; and exposure via tap water and house dust is now also thought possible. Many studies have linked long term, low-level BPA exposure to everything from increased risks for obesity by triggering fat-cell activity, to diabetes, heart disease in women, fertility defects and an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life from fetal exposure. |
