FDA Finally Bans BPA In Baby Bottles

The federal Food and Drug Administration finally issued their rules to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles and Sippy cups.  The FDA’s timely move comes well after BPA had already been removed from baby bottles and Sippy cups, by the manufacturers of those products.  Public outcry over having BPA in those items prompted the suppliers of those products to act faster than the FDA did.  Ironically, the FDA continues to support the use of BPA in all canned food, water bottles, food containers, and other consumer packaging.  BPA is found in hundreds of plastic items from water bottles to CDs to dental sealants. Some researchers say ingesting the chemical can interfere with development of the reproductive and nervous systems in babies and young children.  They point to dozens of studies showing such an effect from BPA in rodents and other animals.  But the FDA has repeatedly stated that those findings cannot be applied to humans.  The federal government is currently spending $30 million on its own studies assessing the chemical’s health effects on humans.  About 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their urine, mainly because the chemical leaches out of food and beverage packaging. The vast majority of canned goods in the U.S. are sealed with resin that contains BPA to prevent contamination and spoiling.  Canned food manufacturers have used the chemicals since the 1950s.  Not surprisingly, chemical makers maintain that the plastic-hardening chemical is safe for all food and drink uses.