A new report issued by the National Workgroup for Safe Markets found that the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) was present in 46 out of 50 canned food items the group tested, which amounts to 92 percent. As Steven Reinberg reports for Business Week online, BPA is commonly used in the metal linings of canned goods to protect against food-borne illnesses. The foods tested in the report ranged from canned fruits and vegetables, to canned tuna fish.
BPA is also found in several other plastic products, including baby bottles, sippy cups, and other plastic water bottles.
Mike Schade, the PVC campaign coordinator at the Center for Health, Environment & Justice in New York City stated in the Business Week article that over the course of a day a person could be exposed "'to potentially harmful levels of BPA."'
Caleb Hellerman writes on the CNN blog Paging Dr. Gupta that BPA is an endocrine disrupter. This means the chemical could potentially "affect the hormones--chemical signals--that direct a range of processes in the body." Hellerman also writes that the Grocery Manufacturer's association and other canned goods makers said BPA use is not a safety issue.
However, Liz Szabo reports in USA Today online that the National Toxicology Program "has 'some concern' that BPA alters development of the brain, behavior and the prostate gland in children, before and after birth." Additionally, Reinberg reports that Dr. Sarah Janssen, a staff scientist at the National Resources Defense Council in San Francisco said that in animal studies, BPA exposure also increased the risk of developing prostate and breast cancer, as well as earlier onset of puberty.
According to Reinberg's article, "[t]he goal of the report's authors is the get the Food and Drug Administration to ban BPA in food packaging." Meanwhile, Senator Diane Feinstein (CA) is planning to offer an amendment to the Food Safety legislation in the US Senate that would ban the use of BPA in food and drink containers. Feinstein's amendment is being opposed by the food industry, and at this point it is not clear when the Senate will take up Food Safety legislation.
Reinberg reports that the FDA, which has maintained BPA is safe for human consumption, will take another look at the chemical. "In January, the FDA and other U.S. health agencies pledged $30 million toward short-and long-term research aimed at clarifying the health effects of the chemical."
Meanwhile, the France's National Assembly has approved a ban on manufacturing, selling, importing, and exporting baby bottles made from products containing BPA, reports the blog Eat, Drink and Be. In doing so, France joins Canada and Denmark as the only countries to ban BPA use in food containers and packaging for children aged 0-3.
It will be interesting to see if this new report on BPA will help the Feinstein amendment or lead to some other crackdown on the chemical's use in canned food, food packaging, and other products that pose risks of exposure?
To read the report from the National Workgroup for Safe Markets, click here.
To read the Reinberg article in Business Week online, click here.
To read the Hellerman Blog Post, click here.
To read the Szabo article in USA Today online, click here.
To read the Eat, Drink and Be Blog, click here.
Posted: 05/19/10
