Errrrrrr! Really! I was really mad. When the FDA recently declared BPA safe I was so mad and disappointed I didn’t even write about it as you probably noticed. I felt duped, or that they would say ok actually we are going to, that was a mistake. And when they released their findings that BPA was safe last month I thought it was unconscionable enough that they released info on how to avoid it. Ummm, its safe but you shouldn’t use it. As the Washington Post states “The (FDA) report stands in contrast to more than 100 studies performed by government scientists and university laboratories that have found health concerns associated with bisphenol A (BPA).”
The good news, some states are now taking action contrary to the FDA’s findings. They are going to baby product companies to ask them to avoid putting BPAs in their products. In addition, thankfully, many manufacturers have responded to the public’s desire to have BPA-free products for their babies, kids and even themselves. I find it amazing that the manufacturers and retailers like WalMart and Toys R’ Us are beating the government to the punch. (and I rarely have good things to say about big box stores, but here’s one place they are getting it right) Wasn’t it enough that it has been banned in kid’s products in Canada? When the FDA held off its ban on BPAs everyone should have said, “hmmm, what did the Canadian government get to see that these guys didn’t?” or were the lobbyist’s influence as usual too much to resist? Whatever the reason they deemed it safe, I think it better that we avoid it.
Yikes-BPA in your plastic bottles
BPA update…
BPA Primer from GreenMommy.com
I was very disappointed by the FDA’s announcement as well, and that only adds to the time I was disappointed that they approved cloned beef healthy for human consumption. How obvious is it that people don’t want frankenfood when there are riots in Korea over beef imports from the US?
And don’t even get me started on how asleep at the wheel the FDA was during the tomato / jalapeno pepper salmonella problems.
Is the FDA even doing anything besides taking lobbyists’ donations to the bank and reading from their scripts? I certainly hope so!
The end of last week I got a very alarming email from The Soft Landing that I want to share with you. You know them, I have sung their praises on many occasions in the almost 2 years running this blog. If you don’t you should sign up for their newsletter!
Anyway, to the point, the must-read post is about a Congressional Committee investigation into the FDA’s BPA report, and the suspicion that it was influenced and possibly prepared by manufacturers looking to keep BPA in their products. This is scary but sadly not that surprising. It would not be the first time industries have tried to persuade the government to turn a blind eye to a dangerous additive- remember lead?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/health/policy/30plastic.html