FDA Wont Ban BPA in Food, Beverage Packaging

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today rejected the Natural Resources Defense Council's petition to ban the much-debated chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage packaging. FDA said NRDC did not present compelling scientific evidence to impose new restrictions; however, the agency will continue to study the issue.

FDA agreed to address the use of BPA as part of a settlement reached Dec. 7, 2011, with NRDC, which had filed a petition with FDA requesting a ban on BPA in food packaging, food containers and any material likely to come in contact with food back in 2008. In 2010, NRDC sued asking the court to require FDA to respond to its petition.

BPA critics have argued FDA ignored evidence from animal studies that found the chemical to be harmful. Research has shown that people are exposed to BPA because small amounts can migrate into the food and beverages from their containers. Reports from some animal studies have raised concerns that BPA exposure may cause multiple health problems, including reproductive disorders, behavior disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

With the support of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), scientists at FDAs National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) have been studying BPA since 2008, when a report by the NIEHS and NTP called for more research into the potential toxic effects of BPA on fetuses, infants and children.

Todays ruling by FDA said the scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe. FDA has performed extensive research on BPA, has reviewed hundreds of other studies, and is continuing to address questions and potential concerns raised by certain studies."

There also have been studies that contend that BPA is a hazard to people too. But FDAas well as the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA)has carefully assessed these studies and finds no convincing evidence to support that belief.

FDA scientists also recently determined that exposure to BPA through foods for infants is much less than had been previously believed and that the trace amounts of the chemical that enter the body, whether its an adult or a child, are rapidly metabolized and eliminated.