According to this article, companies trying to find ways to can their food products in metal containers without bisphenol A (BPA) have found that the search is costing millions and may not ultimately result in BPA-free foods. Companies no longer using cans with linings containing BPA have apparently found traces of the ubiquitous chemical in their foods and are trying to determine whether the source is cutting boards, latex gloves or even the food items themselves. Food manufacturers are not waiting for the government to act on proposals to ban the substance; they reportedly began searching for alternatives in 2008 after consumer pressure motivated manufacturers to remove BPA from plastic baby bottles. While it has been relatively easy for plastic-bottle makers to find a simple BPA substitute, canned-food manufacturers face problems such as alternative lining disintegration, taste issues and the inability of the other linings to withstand the high temperatures…
Tag Archives BPA
“Concern about toxins in the environment used to be a fringe view. But alarm has moved into the medical mainstream,” writes New York Times op-ed contributor Nicholas Kristof in this February 25, 2010, piece examining a purported shift in how the scientific community perceives the likelihood that ubiquitous chemicals affect the developing brain. Kristof references a forthcoming opinion piece in Pediatrics that reportedly cites “historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally.” Although the Pediatrics editorial apparently focuses on the impact of medications such as thalidomide, misoprostol and valproic acid, Kristof extends his concern to other chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenol A. “At a time when many Americans still use plastic containers to microwave food, in ways that make toxicologists blanch, we need accelerated research, regulations and consumer protection,” he opines. While Kristof warns against “sensationalizing risks,” he nevertheless urges consumers “to be wary…
According to legal commentators interviewed for an article in Law 360, consumer perceptions about the safety of food-packaging chemical bisphenol A (BPA), as well as increasing attention to the chemical in state legislatures, could result in a morass of litigation for years to come. While a $1 billion lawsuit is already pending in multidistrict litigation court against companies producing products, such as baby bottles, containing BPA, some say that manufacturers rushing to reformulate their packaging or products could inadvertently replace the substance with questionable alternatives. The article explores the scientific uncertainties currently informing the debate before the courts and policy makers and suggests that if the Food and Drug Administration ultimately concluded that BPA poses risks to human health, consumer fears would only be exacerbated. See Law 360, February 16, 2010. In a related development, the 95-2 vote in Wisconsin’s Assembly on February 16 has moved a BPA ban closer…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a request for public comment on its determination that bisphenol A (BPA) “appears to meet the criteria for listing as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65, based on findings of the National Toxicology Program’s Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (NTP-CERHR, 2008).” The notice states that BPA is a “[c]omponent in polycarbonate plastic used in water and baby bottles, present in epoxy resins used to line food cans and in dental sealants.” Comments must be submitted by April 13, 2010. If requested by March 12, a public forum will be scheduled for the public to “discuss the scientific data and other relevant information on whether the chemical meets the criteria for listing in the regulations.” If OEHHA determines, after reviewing the comments, that BPA should be listed, the agency will publish a…
The Washington and Wisconsin legislatures have reportedly passed bills that would prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, sipping cups and other food and beverage containers intended for children younger than age 3. In light of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent decision to reassess the plasticizer’s safety, the Washington House of Representatives voted 95-1 in favor of legislation (H. 1180) that would prohibit BPA in bottles, cups or other containers designed primarily for this age group, as well as any sports water bottles, as of July 1, 2011. The bill now heads to the Senate, where the Health and Long-Term Care Committee has delivered a similar version to legislators. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Senate has adopted its own BPA measure (S. 127), an identical version of which has already passed the Assembly Consumer Protection Committee and now awaits that chamber’s approval. In addition, Vermont lawmakers recently…
A federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in Missouri has issued an order and opinion disposing of defendants’ motion that it reconsider its prior rulings refusing to dismiss some of the bisphenol A-related claims in the case on the basis of federal preemption and primary jurisdiction. In re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1967 (W.D. Mo., decided January 19, 2010). Details about the court’s prior ruling appear in issue 327 of this Update. The court also denied defendants’ motion to certify the issues for immediate interlocutory appeal. In its opinion, the court clarifies its holding allowing plaintiffs to proceed with their unjust enrichment claims, acknowledging that its prior holding may not have been clear. “The Court did not intend to suggest that all Plaintiffs automatically and necessarily have a valid claim for unjust enrichment. . . . [T]he Court cannot conclude that no purchaser can assert a claim…
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has responded to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent review of bisphenol A in food contact applications, praising regulators for stopping short of a ban on the ubiquitous chemical but criticizing their concern for “hypothetical and non-existent health risks.” FDA has stated that it now shares the National Toxicology Program’s outlook on “the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children,” and is considering a more aggressive oversight approach. To this end, the agency may seek new authority to govern BPA and its different formulations through the Food Contact Notification Program created in 2000. This regulatory framework not only requires manufacturers to provide detailed analysis on substance applications, but allows FDA to “quickly protect the public by revoking the use through a notice in the Federal Register.” Noting that BPA was first…
A recent study has claimed that “higher urinary concentrations of bisphenol A [BPA] are associated with an increased prevalence of coronary heart disease.” David Melzer, et al., “Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration with Heart Disease: Evidence from NHANES 2003/06,” PLoS ONE, January 2010. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003/04 and 2005/06, researchers examined the urinary BPA concentrations of participants aged 18-74 years, “representative of the general adult population of the United States.” According to the authors, “Associations have previously been reported between urinary BPA concentrations and heart disease, diabetes and liver enzymes in adults participants of [NHANES] 2003/04.” The 2005/06 NHANES data purportedly confirmed that “higher BPA exposure, reflected in higher urinary concentrations of BPA, is consistently associated with reported heart disease in the general adult population of the USA.” The study noted, however, that “Associations between urinary BPA concentrations and diabetes or…
A French study on bisphenol A (BPA) has suggested a link between exposure to the chemical used in plastic containers and drink cans to reduced intestinal functioning. Viorica Braniste, et al., “Impact of oral bisphenol A at reference doses on intestinal barrier function and sex differences after perinatal exposure in rats,” Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences (December 2009). Researchers at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) in Toulouse apparently found that the digestive tract of rats reacted negatively to low doses of BPA and that rats exposed to the chemical in utero and during breastfeeding had an increased risk of developing severe intestinal inflammation in adulthood. Additional research on human intestine cells evidently revealed that BPA lowered the permeability of the intestines and the immune system’s response to digestive inflammation. “The findings illustrate the intestine’s great sensitivity to bisphenol A and open new research paths for characterizing and evaluating the…
In collaboration with Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have announced an October 2010 expert meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, to discuss the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), calling for data from the scientific community on any “adverse human health effects at low doses of BPA, especially on reproduction, the nervous system and on behavioral development.” Meeting participants will apparently consider the current literature on BPA toxicology and exposure, weigh available risk assessments and address any knowledge gaps in an effort to develop international guidance. The agencies are specifically requesting both published and unpublished technical information on (i) “current levels of BPA in relevant food groups”; (ii) the analytical methodologies used to detect BPA “in food and other matrices”; (iii) “BPA migration from food contact materials into food”; (iv) “dietary exposure assessments of BPA from foods and other sources”;…
