As managing editor of Here's government in action... today the National Toxicology Program released a statement and a report that suggests that parents might want to reduce infants' exposure to products containing bisphenol A, such as polycarbonate baby bottles.
Remember, this comes just a few months after the Food and Drug Administration took the opposite approach, with testimony to Congress that BPA is safe.
When FDA came out with its statement, I was surprised by the amount of press converage it generated. After all, FDA wasn't really saying anything new -- the agency has said all along that BPA is safe.
Now the National Toxicology Program is publicly contradicting FDA. Here's NTP's advice to parents:
More research is clearly needed to understand exactly how these findings relate to human health and development, but at this point we can't dismiss the possibility that the effects we're seeing in animals may occur in humans. If parents are concerned, they can make the personal choice to reduce exposures of their infants and children to BPA.
With the release of this report, you can expect to see BPA in the mainstream media again, like this story posted today from USA Today.
And expect to see a lot of very confused consumers.
Comments (2)
This kind of stuff is only fuel for the NGOs.
Posted by David Yopak | September 4, 2008 10:15 AM
Posted on September 4, 2008 10:15
Regarding the FDA statement: What really must be considered, is the CUMULATIVE EFFECT of exposures to all various chemicals, pesticides, etc. Although each individual study might conclude that exposure levels are "acceptable", these studies do not consider the barrage of chemicals and pollutants that we are exposed to on a daily basis...
Regarding the NTP statement, it would be wise to consider that the negative effects seen in animals, surely may also occur in humans...to think that humans , who are made up of the same raw materials as animals, are somehow immune to the negative effects already shown in these animals, would be quite foolish.
Is it really a big deal to take the BPA out of the products, as many manufacturers are now starting to do?
Posted by Peter Gardner | September 4, 2008 11:14 AM
Posted on September 4, 2008 11:14