FDA yo-yo on BPA Risks

From the New York Times:

WEEKS after its own advisory board accused the Food and Drug Administration of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of bisphenol-A, found in many plastic baby bottles, plastic food containers and metal can linings, the agency has agreed to reconsider the issue.

The F.D.A.’s draft risk assessment in August, finding the chemical safe as it is now used, stood out against a tide of recent scientific opinion.

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What you need to know:

BPA is a chemical compound used as a building block of several polymers and polycarbonates that in turn are found in plastic bottles and cans. Which means all of us are exposed to tiny amounts, whether drinking canned juice, milk from a baby-bottle, or any other product sold in a plastic container.

Toxicity questions have been around for decades, raising safety issue, especially for babies. Potemtial problems include hyperactivity, learning disabilities, brain damage, and immune deficiencies.

In August, the FDA deemed BPA safe, based on studies that were funded by…you guessed it, industry interests. Now the FDA will have to take into account several more studies, that may have been sidelined.

What to do at the supermarket:

It’s virtually impossible to avoid BPA if you are buying canned food. Parents of nursing infants do have options and may purchase bottles that are laebled BPA free.

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