As members of the 111th Congress actively consider how to address food-safety issues and debate in committee whether splitting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in two would best reform federal oversight, new bills addressing food health and safety continue to be introduced. The most recent include: H.R. 1324 – Introduced March 5, 2009, by Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), this bill would update national school nutrition standards for foods and beverages not included in school meals. The proposed legislation, with 101 co-sponsors, was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. H.R. 1332 – Introduced March 5, 2009, by Representative Jim Costa (D-Calif.), this measure, titled the “Safe Food Enforcement, Assessment, Standards, and Targeting Act of 2009” or “Safe FEAST Act of 2009,” would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by strengthening FDA’s authority to inspect records during food-related emergencies, recall contaminated products, accredit food-testing laboratories, and…
Tag Archives BPA
A Suffolk County, New York, legislative committee on March 3, 2009, voted unanimously to prohibit the packaging chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from polycarbonate baby bottles. According to published reports, the bill goes before the full Suffolk County Legislature next week. The vote would reportedly ban BPA from baby bottles and cups sold in the county that are intended for children ages 3 or younger. Similar bills are under consideration in Washington state, Minnesota and Connecticut. See Foodproductiondaily.com, March 4, 2009.
Health Canada has published the results of a survey it conducted to detect and measure levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in canned beverages such as soft drinks, tea and energy drinks. The federal agency detected the chemical in nearly all of the samples tested, with some of the highest levels appearing in energy drinks containing caffeine. Health Canada scientists detected no BPA in two tonic water products and one energy drink product. According to the survey, “It is believed that quinine hydrochloride, which is commonly used as a bittering agent in tonic type drinks, may interfere with BPA extraction.” While the levels found in the beverages were below regulatory limits, some scientists are reportedly concerned that the large number of sources of exposure may pose cumulative risks to human health. University of Missouri biologist Frederick vom Saal contends that harmful effects of the chemical, which mimics the effects of estrogen in…
Three letters published in the Febuary 18, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have raised questions about a study linking bisphenol A (BPA) exposure to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver enzyme abnormalities in adults. Led by British researcher Iain D. Lang, the study concluded that participants in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004 (NHANES) who had the highest BPA exposure were three times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease and twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes. In addition, a concurrent JAMA editorial hailed these results as the “first major epidemiologic study to examine the health effects associated with the ubiquitous estrogenic chemical bisphenol A.” The editorial board consequently urged “U.S. regulatory agencies to follow the recent action taken by Canadian authorities, which have declared BPA a ‘toxic chemical’ requiring aggressive action to limit human and…
The FDA Science Board has announced a public meeting on February 24, 2009, to discuss “the continued assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) in FDA-regulated products.” The board will also receive updates from two working groups on “economically motivated adulteration of FDA-regulated products and rapid detection of Salmonella in foods.” In addition, FDA intends to publish information on its BPA assessment later this month to facilitate public feedback. The board will accept written comments on these issues until February 17, 2009. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, February 10, 2009.
The American Bar Association’s Litigation Section sponsored a “Hot Topics in Food Law” program via the Web and telephone on February 10, 2009. Speakers included in-house counsel for a large food manufacturing company, a Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) representative and Stephen Gardner, the director of litigation for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). They focused on the most recent “ingredient-driven” foodborne contamination outbreaks, including pet food and infant formula containing melamine and peanut butter products tainted with Salmonella. In light of such incidents, the speakers emphasized that food companies must carefully manage their supply chains through independent, reliable audits and the establishment and communication of clear, achievable food safety standards. After the recent peanut butter recall, companies will likely focus on company-to-company tracing issues. A speaker representing the outside counsel perspective focused on bisphenol A and discussed recent initiatives to ban it in Canada and list it…
A recent study has claimed that the food packaging chemical bisphenol A (BPA) remains in the body longer than expected, raising questions about potential non-food sources. Richard Stahlhut, et al., “Bisphenol A Data in NHANES Suggest Longer Than Expected Half-Life, Substantial Non-Food Exposure, or Both,” Environmental Health Perspectives, January 28, 2009. University of Rochester Medical Center researchers examined BPA levels in the urine of 1,469 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study authors found that instead of quickly metabolizing BPA, people who fasted for 24 hours still eliminated the chemical in their urine, leading to speculation that BPA might be stored in fat tissue or come from other sources such as tap water or household dust. Previous research has allegedly linked higher BPA concentrations to ailments ranging from heart disease, type 2 diabetes and liver…
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,…
The California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program’s Scientific Guidance Panel decided at a December 4-5, 2008, meeting that it would designate diesel exhaust and flame retardants as the first substances the state will monitor in humans under a 2006 law (SB 1379) requiring the establishment of a state biomonitoring program. The panel also reportedly agreed that the program’s pilot project would focus on analyzing maternal-infant blood samples from 250 subject pairs. A spokesperson with the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) apparently indicated that antimicrobials and synthetic hormones used in animal husbandry will be discussed at a future meeting. Environmentalists who attended the meeting reportedly urged the panel to prioritize other chemicals such as bisphenol A, nano silver and phthalates. According to a press report, panel members asked OEHHA legal counsel whether another 2006 law (A.B. 289) could be applied to the biomonitoring program. That law apparently authorizes a state…
In a continuing series on the purported health effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in plastic food storage containers and metal food cans, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that all of the 10 “microwave safe” containers tested at the newspaper’s request leached BPA when heated in a microwave or conventional oven. While food companies advise worried parents to avoid microwaving food in plastic containers with the recycling number 7 stamped on the bottom, researchers apparently found that even those stamped with 2 and 5 leached the chemical. The highest bisphenol A levels reportedly leached from a can of liquid infant formula and a plastic food-storage container. Food company officials apparently responded to the findings by claiming that the low levels leached are insignificant. According to the Journal Sentinel, several peer-reviewed studies show harm to animals at levels similar to those detected in the newspaper’s tests, which…
