'bout time....
"FDA bans plastics additive in baby bottles; Markey also seeks to limit BPA in other containers" by Bobby Caina Calvan | Globe Staff, July 18, 2012
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration banned the chemical known as BPA on Tuesday from baby bottles and sippy cups and took a step toward removing the plastics additive from containers used to package baby formula.
The ban on BPA in baby bottles is not expected to have a significant effect, because manufacturers had already stopped using the chemical....
“Once again, the FDA has come so late to the party that the public and the marketplace have already left,” said Jason Rano, director of government affairs for Environmental Working Group....
BPA is typically used to help harden plastics during manufacturing, but trace amounts of the substance can leach into food. Some scientists and doctors have expressed concern on the effect of the chemical on the developing brains of children. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies.
BPA is still used in other food packaging....
Representative Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat, introduced legislation in 2011 to ban BPA from all food and beverage containers, but the bill has not yet had a hearing.
Beverage companies have opposed the wider ban, saying there is insufficient science to support the need for it.
But when it comes to global fart mist.... pffffffffft.
“Our scientists, and the independent scientists with whom we have consulted, have thoroughly reviewed the data and have assured us that our beverage cans pose no public health risk,” the Coca-Cola Co. said in a statement on its website. The company lines its aluminum cans with BPA-containing plastics.
Forgive me for not believing what corporations $ay these days.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says there is still “much uncertainty regarding the chemical.” As a result, the institute is investing $30 million for BPA-related research, in coordination with a larger five-year study by the FDA.
Meanwhile, the kid is still thirsty.
--more--"
Related: Mixed Messages on Massachusetts Kids
Actually, all kids.
Also see: Alphabet Agency: FDA Feedbag
Sunday Globe Special: FDA Fascism
HIV prevention pill receives approval by FDA
Time for me to abstain.
