The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it would not advise consumers to stop using products, such as some baby bottles, that are made with the chemical bisphenol A (BPA).
The chemical, found in many plastic items, has become controversial out of safety concerns following studies that showed a variety of health problems in laboratory animals exposed to BPA.
But for now, the FDA maintains the chemical is safe.
“At this time, FDA is not recommending that anyone discontinue using products that contain BPA while we continue our risk assessment process. However, concerned consumers should know that several alternatives to polycarbonate baby bottles exist, including glass baby bottles,” the agency wrote in an update to its website Wednesday.
Norris Alderson, the FDA’s associate commissioner for science and head of an agency task force currently reviewing BPA safety concerns, said “a large body of available evidence” demonstrates that products made with it are safe.
Testifying before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, Alderson defended the agency’s confidence on two industry-funded studies that found products containing BPA are safe. Some senators faulted the FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, saying the agencies had failed to protect consumers from both BPA and phthalates, a class of chemicals used to increase the flexibility of plastics.
In March, the Senate passed legislation imposing a nationwide ban on phthalates in children’s toys and products.
“The FDA could hardly be doing less,” Senator John Kerry (D-MA) told Alderson.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said the FDA was “looking the other way” on concerns about the safety of BPA.
“Parents always err on the side of caution when it comes to their kids’ health. We think that the law should do the same,” he said.
In April, Kerry, Schumer and other Democratic senators introduced a bill that would ban BPA in children’s products, and would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study health effects of BPA in adults and children.
Critics and consumer groups alike say the FDA has fallen under industry pressure and has not properly act on BPA’s safety concerns and other issues.
But Alderson said the review is ongoing, and the FDA has no reason to recommend that consumers stop using products made with BPA.
Alderson said the FDA is reviewing a draft report issued in April by the National Toxicology Program, part of the U.S. government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), that indicated concern about BPA’s potential to cause neural and behavioral problems in fetuses, infants and children.
The report relied on animal studies, and said there was evidence that suggested a link between BPA exposure and early puberty, prostate and breast cancer in humans. The warning makes the National Toxicology Program the first federal agency to embrace these concerns.
For now, federal regulatory agencies have joined the chemical industry in defending BPA’s safety. Alderson said it the FDA review determines BPA is not safe it would take appropriate action to protect the public. In the meantime, some retailers such as Toys R Us and Wal-Mart are planning to stop selling certain products made with BPA.
BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic, a clear shatter-resistant material in items such as baby bottles, water bottles, medical devices and sports safety equipment. It is also used to produce durable epoxy resins often used as coating in dental fillings and most food and beverage cans. Humans can be become exposed to BPA as it leaches out of plastic into liquids such as water, baby formula or food inside a container.
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