The suit was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to an article from Greenwire published in the New York Times.  In it, the NRDC charged the FDA with failing to respond to its October, 2008, petition asking the agency to block use of the chemical in food packaging.

Until this spring, the FDA had maintained that use of BPA is safe. However, recently it adjusted its stance and called for more research on the question. The research is expected to take 18 to 24 months.  In the meantime, BPA continues to be used in food packaging, particularly hard clear plastic bottles used for water and soda, and in tin can liners. In addition, it’s liberally used in the thermo paper that we all handle as merchant receipts.  The synthetic estrogen is found in more than 90 percent of Americans’ bodies.

Meanwhile, New York State acted to ban BPA in products used by infants and toddlers over the weekend.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/29/29greenwire-enviro-group-sues-to-force-bpa-ban-in-food-pac-79679.html

Another controversial chemical accepted by many Americans is Aspartame, also known as NutraSweet. It’s in the diet sodas and other foods.  Now, there’s something the FDA should have banned long ago, too.

My sister sent me an article from the Albuquerque Journal dated May 9, 2009: “Artificial sweetener effective bug killer.” In it, Richard Fagerlund, “the bugman,” advises readers on issues involving getting rid of pests. Here’s an effective way to get rid of ants and mice: just put some powdered Aspartame in a dish, and they’ll eat it up and die. “It’s a very powerful ant and mouse killer,” wrote Fagerlund.

So it’s harmless for humans? NOT!  Now, doesn’t this make you question the usefulness and integrity of the FDA, which is supposed to be protecting us??

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/decision.pl?attempted=www.abqjournal.com/bugman/09221739bugman05-09-09.htm

Photo credit: Photo by Bill Halls http://www.flickr.com/photos/billhails/183562782/

Where does it come from?

The contamination “is thought to be the result of large amounts of plastic garbage that has been dumped into the sea. Although plastic is non-biodegradable, the chemical BPA will still migrate from this ‘plastic pollution’ into the surrounding waters. Another theory suggests, that Bisphenol A may also be leaching into seawaters from the epoxy resins on ships.”

This is alarming, if you ask me.  Let’s avoid bottled water, a prime source of BPA, and keep pestering the FDA to ban it.

Source: http://www.bpaplastic.com/plastic-pollution-in-the-ocean

Vicky Heath, editor of Nature’s Endocrinology Review, responded. Perhaps it’s not spam, she said. We need to be aware of the danger. She is calling for the plastics industry to act much more responsibly than it has.

In an editorial dated May, 2010, Health reviewed the dangers of BPA, a synthetic estrogen found in plastic bottles and tin can liners. “BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been implicated in obesity, neurological deficits, reproductive dysfunction and cancer. In addition, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)—common household chemicals found in ‘nonstick’ and waterproof materials—have recently been linked to thyroid disease.”  She also said:

“BPA is just the tip of the iceberg. The plastics industry has a responsibility to ensure that its products are safe; companies should, therefore, be mandated to fund independent epidemiological and mechanistic research into the potential risks that industrial chemicals pose to the endocrine system. Furthermore, the FDA and its international counterparts should prioritize such research; at a global level, even a small risk could have a considerable impact on the health of millions of people.”

Meanwhile, the FDA is making us wait another 1 1/2 to 2 years for more research on this question, although there is plenty of research already showing that BPA is dangerous for all of us, but especially to infants and pregnant women. Be sure to protect your family by using a home water filtration system instead of bottled water.

As you know, I and others have been strongly questioning the use of BPA, a synthetic estrogen, in food and drink containers, especially bottles for bottled water and soda, but including tin can liners.  It’s clear that BPA is leaching into the food and into our tissues, and many studies are showing a variety of bad effects. In January, the FDA finally agreed to authorize more study of the matter.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is convinced too that BPA is harmful, and that we shouldn’t wait to ban it–there are enough studies now. She is pushing for a ban on BPA in food containers now.

Others, including the massive food industry dependent on the cheap plastic packaging that BPA affords, are pressing the senate to wait on Feinstein’s amendment until the studies are done, according to the Washington Post as quoted by NPR. Results are expected in about a year and a half.

For more information, check out the NPR post on the issue. In the meantime, ditch those water bottles and take a good look at the top quality home water filtration systems made by Multi-Pure.

Photo credit:

BPA is a synthetic estrogen favored by plastics manufacturers to make clear plastic malleable enough to form soda and water bottles. It’s also widely used in tin can liners.  But the health hazards are many, as detailed elsewhere in this blog. Finally the FDA has decided to run some studies of its own of the risk of BPA at low doses, especially to fetuses and young children.

I am very glad to hear this!  I expect you are too.  I’m also happy that I’ve got a great source of cleaner water at my kitchen sink, in the form of water from my Multi-Pure under-sink filter.  We bottle it in stainless steel bottles and take it with us. It tastes great, contains the minerals we need, and bypasses bottled water.

The study, released by Human Reproduction on Nov. 10, builds on animal studies that suggest BPA in food containers such as bottled water and soda bottles is an endocrine disrupter.

In the study, investigators interviewed male workers in China who had been exposed to extremely high levels of BPA, 50 times higher than the average person. They discovered significantly higher risk of sexual dysfunction in the workers.

Whether this study is significant because of the high exposure level remains to be seen. In the meantime, the FDA is re-evaluating its prior judgment that BPA is safe to use in food containers such as bottles and as tin can liners. The FDA is expected to announce its determination at the end of the month.

The Environmental Working Group, which advocates for clean water and other topics, announced it is troubled by the study’s results because it indicates BPA affects not only children, but adults.

If you are troubled about chemicals in plastics, you should definitely stop drinking bottled water and get yourself a great high-quality home water filter to protect your family. Multi-Pure home water filters are the best in the business.

BPA, as you know, is present in the clear plastic bottles used to package water and soda. It’s also in the liners for tin cans containing food.

The most significant threat is to fetuses and small children, said the society’s Andrea Gore, an University of Texas pharmacology professor interviewed by the Environmental Working Group. For for infants and unborn, even small exposures may have consequences many years later including infertility and cancer, she said.

The society is not concerned only about BPA. It’s also concerned about PCB’s, pesticides, fungicides, plastics, and other plasticizers.

In fact, the Endocrine Society is recommending a huge shift in U.S. policy. We should treat compounds as potentially hazardous until they are shown to be safe, said Gore.

Currently, it’s the other way around: compounds are allowed to proliferate in our food and water until they are proven unsafe. And what constitutes proof? In the case of BPA, there are many more studies showing it unsafe than safe, but the compound continues to be approved by the FDA, at least for now.

Keep your family safe from BPA and its effects. Don’t drink bottled water or soda. Get a reliable, high-quality water filter for your kitchen sink. Check out Multi-Pure water filters, which I offer to you at a substantial discount. Find out why I chose Multi-Pure!

The Washington Post published an article May 31 describing a strategy session involving bisphenol A (BPA) packaging manufacturers and large users, such as Coca Cola.  The Post obtained notes from the meeting and corroborated them with a second attendee.

Strategizers suggested a $500,000 public relations campaign, ideally captained by a pregnant young woman willing to speak around the country about the benefits of BPA.

Participants considered using “fear tactics” in the campaign, such as telling people they won’t have access to baby food any more. On a more rational note, they also suggested returning control to consumers–allowing them to choose BPA-free packaging at a higher price, according to the notes obtained by the Post.

A body of scientific evidence using laboratory animals has grown over the past 10 years linking BPA to breast and testicular cancer, obesity, diabetes, hyperactivity, miscarriage, low sperm count, and other reproductive problems. Human studies have linked BPA to diabetes and heart disease. It also has been found to affect chemotherapy for breast cancer.  BPA has also been found to leach from packaging into the food or beverage, making its way into the test subject’s urine.

The federal agency charged with protecting us, the FDA, is choosing to believe a few industry-funded studies claiming no harmful effects. But criticism is growing, even from within the FDA.  Last fall, the scientific advisory board for the FDA criticized the agency for relying on industry-funded studies on the controversial chemical.

And so other legislative bodies are getting into the act, including the city of Chicago, which has banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. Six states have laws on the matter pending.  Meanwhile, Canada banned BPA in baby bottles in 2008.

The FDA is reviewing the controversy under a new commissioner.

I don’t know about you, but I think we all ought to find purer water somewhere besides in BPA-containing bottled water bottles.  A home water filter is a good place to start. Carry your water with you in a stainless steel bottle, and you’re all set!