FDA to Decide Whether to Ban BPA in Food Packaging January 26, 2012 News, Public Health bisphenol-A, BPA, BPA ban 0 The U.S. Food & Drug Administration on Wednesday committed to decide by March 31, 2012, whether bisphenol-A ( BPA) should be banned from use in packaging for food and drinks. The decision to decide is part of a settlement agreement with the National Resources Defense Council. The FDA took three years to respond to the environmental group’s petition. “Every day, millions of American consumers are exposed to this dangerous chemical, commonly used in packaging for canned foods, beverages and even baby formula,” said Dr. Sarah Janssen, a senior scientist in the NRDC’s San Francisco offices. “The FDA has an obligation to protect us from toxic food additives. As thousands of studies have already shown, BPA is a dangerous chemical that has no place in the food chain. Its use in food and beverage containers needs to be banned.” BPA can be found in the linings of beer, soda, vegetable and soup cans as well as liquid infant formula containers and reusable water bottles. Trace amounts of BPA have been detected in the urine of 91% of Americans tested. Governor Brown has signed the Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act (AB 1319) into law that requires that BPA be eliminated in baby bottles and sippy cups made or sold after July 1, 2013. However, exposure from food packaging remains. Click here to view another article about BPA featuring SFMS Member and BPA researcher William Goodson, MD. Comments are closed.
