FDA Taking Another Look at BPA

The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to reconsider its controversial decision that Bisphenol A, a toxic chemical used in baby bottles and other hard plastics, is safe when used at currently set limits, an official said.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said today she will appoint her acting chief scientist to review the agency’s current stance on the chemical, more commonly called BPA. The results of the FDA’s review should be ready by late summer or early fall, Hamburg said.

BPA has been at the center of an increasingly intense storm of controversy in recent years. Consumer rights groups, citing scientific studies linking exposure to BPA to developmental problems in children, called for a ban on BPA in plastic infant bottles, sippy cups, and other children’s products. BPA also is used to line the insides of soda cans, containers of liquid baby formula, and other products.

The FDA has withstood vocal criticism since last summer, when the agency formally stood behind the use of BPA in consumer products as long as the chemical is used within currently approved limits. However, some lawmakers are either considering or have already adopted new laws to prohibit the use of BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups, and other children’s products.

County and state legislators from California to New York have passed laws restricting the use of BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups, and other children’s products. Meanwhile, the largest makers of baby bottles and sippy cups have said they will no longer use the chemical in their products.

The main concern about BPA is how the chemical can affect consumers, particularly young children, who are exposed to rising levels of the chemical over time. Of particular concern is feeding newborns and toddlers from bottles and sippy cups containing BPA after the bottles are heated up in a microwave or pot of boiling water. It is feared that heating the plastic may release higher amounts of BPA into the liquid inside the cups, exposing children to potentially harmful levels of the toxic chemical, some critics said.

The FDA could decide to lower the approved levels of BPA in children’s products, or product safety officials could follow the lead of Canadian and European officials and ban any use of the chemical in infant bottles and sippy cups.

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