Canada, Chicago ban chemical BPA in baby products, FDA findings pending

If you drink from plastic water bottles or heat food in plastic containers in a microwave, or give your baby formula in a plastic bottle, you’re exposing yourself and your child to the potentially dangerous chemical used in hard plastics, bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is also found in the lining of food and beverage cans, plastic eating utensils, dental composites and sealants. BPA can leach into food and beverages from plastic containers when heated or leach from plastic containers over time when washed in a dishwasher.

A 2007 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of 2,517 people found that 93 percent of Americans, ages 6 and up, had some level of BPA in their bodies, based on urinalysis tests. Infants were found to have the most exposure to BPA because of their dependence on baby bottles. A European study found that breast fed infants have much less BPA exposure than bottle fed infants.

In the U.S. and in other countries, studies have focused on BPA levels and associated risks in infant lab animals. The findings have consistently shown that low levels of BPA exposure affect brain development and behavior. BPA has also been found to disrupt hormonal and reproductive systems in animals. These include early onset puberty, lower sperm count in males, and fertility problems in females.

With such widespread BPA exposure in humans, further research is needed to determine if these may also be risks to humans, as well as increased risks for cancer, heart disease and diabetes in adults.

In a 2008 draft risk assessment, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that current levels of BPA exposure in Americans were not of enough concern to ban its use.

However, the U.S. Health and Human Services Toxicology Program found “some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures,” in a separate 2008 report. The FDA is now conducting another review of the health effects of BPA on humans and is expected to release its findings later this summer.

Some U.S. municipalities have already enacted (or have pending) laws restricting or banning the use of BPA in baby products, including Chicago, the first to ban its use in baby bottles and sippy cups, Suffolk County in New York, as well as the states of Minnesota and Connecticut. The U.S. Congress is also considering a bill to ban BPA use.

The Canadian government has already acted by classifying BPA as a toxic substance in 2008, based on its review of existing research findings and animal studies. Although the Canadian Government found that current BPA exposure levels in Canadian infants and adults are below those found to be hazardous in animal studies, they have taken a pro-active approach.

The Canadian Government’s Chemical Management Plan web site states:
“… Due to the uncertainty raised in some studies relating to the potential effects of low levels of bisphenol A, the Government of Canada is taking action to enhance the protection of newborns and infants,” citing the potential reproductive and developmental risks to infants.

The Canadian government is banning the sell, advertising, manufacture and importation of BPA in baby bottles, as well as supporting industry in efforts to replace BPA with safer alternatives.

BPA is found in hard polycarbonate plastic products, but not soft, flexible ones, such as squeezable ketchup bottles. A plastic bottle with BPA typically has the number 7 with a PC beside it in the center of the recycling symbol on the bottom of the bottle. If the bottle does not have a recycling symbol, the only way to identify whether or not it is polycarbonate is to contact the manufacturer.

To reduce exposure to BPA, avoid heating food and beverages in plastic containers with BPA. Specifically:

• Do not microwave food or liquids in plastic containers; use glass or ceramic cookware instead
• Do not put extremely hot liquids into plastic baby bottles
• Do not heat liquids in baby bottles in a microwave
• Do not put boiling liquids into plastic containers when using them to prepare or store food or beverages
• Do not drink from plastic water bottles that have been left in a hot car; use stainless steel water containers
• Buy canned food products from companies that do not use BPA to line their cans
• Remove canned food from cans before heating