According to the director of the FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety, the agency will conduct additional analysis of the effects of bisphenol A on human health after its panel of independent science advisors called the agency’s position on its safety flawed. Laura Tarantino reportedly said that a lot of work remains; she would not indicate if the reassessment would take months or years. Among the issues the FDA is apparently exploring is the cumulative exposure people face over a lifetime given the chemical’s presence in food and beverage containers, plastic medical devices and coatings on gel tablets. A spokesperson for an environmental organization was quoted as saying, “More years of research by FDA to determine what thousands of scientists worldwide already know about the toxic chemical is a waste of time, taxpayer dollars, and will place millions of babies yet to be born at risk.” See The Washington Post,…
Category Archives Issue 286
President-Elect Barack Obama has reportedly named former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D) to serve at the helm of USDA. Political observers characterize Vilsack as a centrist who balanced his state’s budget, resisted tax increases and agreed to spend tax revenues on education and health. Vilsack briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out due to difficulties raising campaign funds. He is apparently a renewable energy proponent and is known as a staunch advocate of ethanol. An issue the USDA secretary will face in 2009 may be whether to grant the ethanol industry billions in federal aid as part of an economic stimulus package. The Organic Consumers Association has already begun a campaign to stop Vilsack’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate. According to the association’s executive director, “Vilsack’s nomination sends the message that dangerous, untested, unlabeled genetically engineered crops will be the norm in the Obama administration. Our nation’s future…
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