U.S. Lawmakers To Ban Toxin Found In Baby Bottles
On Friday, US lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A from food and beverage containers.
The chemical, commonly referred to as BPA, is suspected of harming human development and has been blamed for many health problems in infants.
The move comes on the heels of an announcement made by state officials that the top six baby bottle makers in the US were agreeing to stop using BPA in their products.
"The scientific evidence is mounting that BPA poses serious health risks, especially to children, and manufacturers and retailers have already started to pull items from their store shelves," Democratic Edward Markey, co-author of the bill, told AFP.
"It is time for Congress to act quickly to ban this toxin from all food and beverage containers so that parents can feed their children without worrying that the food contains poisonous chemicals."
The legislation would ban items such as baby bottles, thermoses, baby formula containers, and food cans containing BPA.
The bill would also allow the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give one-year waivers to companies who cannot produce their product without BPA.
Containers that must be made with BPA will be required to have a label with a chemical warning. Manufacturers will also have to submit a plan to comply with the BPA ban, which would take effect 180 days later.
Last year, toxicologist at the National Institutes of Health found that BPA can interfere with brain development in newborns, and fetuses.
The FDA previously reported that BPA is safe in the amounts that it appears in products such as baby bottles.
Over the last decade, 130 studies have linked low levels of the toxic chemical to serious health problems like obesity and breast cancer.
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