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California effort to ban BPA fails

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (Sept. 14, 12:15 p.m. ET) — An attempt to ban the use of bisphenol A in baby bottles and cups and infant formula cans in California has failed.

The bill received a majority of votes in two separate votes last week in the state Assembly, but fell six votes short of the 41 needed for passage. It was then moved to the inactive file Sept. 11 at the request of Assembly Majority Leader Albert Torrico, D-Fremont, so it can be considered again in 2010.

The proposed ban had passed the Senate 21-16 June 2, and received a majority 35-31 vote twice in the Assembly on Sept. 7, but proponents could not muster the additional votes needed for passage.

The California bill would have banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of any liquid, food or beverage that comes in a bottle or cup that contains more than parts per billion of BPA and is intended by use by children three or younger.

It also would have banned the use of BPA as a liner in powdered infant formula cans, but not liquid infant formula cans.

“It is a shame that we have failed to protect our most vulnerable citizens” from BPA, said Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, and a co-sponsor of the bill. She said she would renew her effort to protect children from BPA in the next legislative session.

Connecticut, Minnesota, Chicago and Suffolk County, N.Y., have banned the sale of polycarbonate baby bottles, food containers and cups that contain BPA.

The Suffolk County ban went into effect in July. The Minnesota ban goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010; the Chicago ban on Jan. 31, 2010; and the Connecticut ban on Oct. 1, 2011. The Connecticut ban also applies to infant formula cans and all reusable food and beverage containers.

A number of laboratory studies have linked BPA to birth defects, low birth weights, cancer, early puberty and other health problems in rats. However, 11 safety agencies around the world have said that BPA is safe for use in food contact applications.

The Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing and said it will decide by Nov. 30 whether it needs to change its long-held stance that there is not enough data to support a ban on the use of BPA in food packaging — in particular, baby bottles.

The six major baby bottle manufacturers in the U.S earlier this year agreed not to use BPA in polycarbonate baby bottles, making BPA bans largely symbolic for plastic bottles. But an FDA decision could have a huge impact on manufacturers of canned foods that use containers lined with BPA.

BPA is quite a bit safer than PVC but you don't hear about how poisonous it is! If you have no idea why its not on the hit list, let me inform you. Nearly every city water system carries the water to your home in PVC. Read up on PVC and you won't have to worry about the "supposed" evil of BPA.

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I'm saddened by this news. BPA is a poisonous chemical in plastics and should have never been allowed to get near humans. Yet up until few years ago we fed our babies from bottles leaching BPA. And we still eat food from cans lined with BPA. No wonder cancer rates have gone up considering all the chemicals we are exposed to including BPA. Let's hope this bill will pass in 2010.

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