PLASTICS AND HEALTH
FDA urged to complete delayed BPA review / US authority says its findings are “forthcoming”
Consumer and health groups as well as the international packaging industry are pressuring the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA; www.fda.gov) to finally complete its latest, possibly revised, assessment of the polycarbonate feedstock bisphenol A (BPA). At the same time, plastics manufacturers are trying to reassure consumers that the chemical is not a threat. While all sides may be concerned about consumer health, PC producers and packagers have vital economic interests riding on an authoritative statement – see comprehensive coverage in Plasteurope.com, including on 16.10.2009 and 14.08.2009.
After facing criticism that its earlier studies favoured the chemical industry, the FDA was due to complete its long-awaited review of BPA on 30 November. However, on the same day, it announced an unspecified delay. While the authority did not officially give a reason for the postponement, news reports speculated that it may be buying time to evaluate numerous other, often contradictory, studies on BPA that have emerged in recent months. The FDA report was initially due at the end of October 2008, but its publication was put back for more than a year.
The food and drug “watchdog” also may be under pressure to coordinate its strategy with other US government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA, www.epa.gov), which recently said it planned tougher regulations on six “high priority” chemicals, including BPA – see Plasteurope.com of 21.10.2009 – and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, www.nih.gov), which is spending USD 30m on human and animal tests over a two-year period – see Plasteurope.com of 13.11.2009.
It is unclear when the FDA will finally release its assessment. Up to now, spokespeople have said only that it is “forthcoming,” which most US media have interpreted to mean soon. An FDA spokesperson cryptically told the “Los Angeles Times” that “it won’t be 2010.” By the time the findings are released, however, many polycarbonate producers are worried that the outcome will no longer be relevant. Many manufacturers of plastic bottles and products for children, for example, are switching to other materials.
The British Plastics Federation (BPF, London / UK; www.bpf.co.uk) meanwhile has labelled a campaign by “Breast Cancer UK” to ban bottles produced with BPA as “misleading and based upon a selective use of evidence.” BPF also said that a survey released by the organisation, which revealed that 61% of UK adults believe the government should ban BPA, is “not a good basis for assessing public sentiment,” as it featured “leading questions.”
After facing criticism that its earlier studies favoured the chemical industry, the FDA was due to complete its long-awaited review of BPA on 30 November. However, on the same day, it announced an unspecified delay. While the authority did not officially give a reason for the postponement, news reports speculated that it may be buying time to evaluate numerous other, often contradictory, studies on BPA that have emerged in recent months. The FDA report was initially due at the end of October 2008, but its publication was put back for more than a year.
The food and drug “watchdog” also may be under pressure to coordinate its strategy with other US government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA, www.epa.gov), which recently said it planned tougher regulations on six “high priority” chemicals, including BPA – see Plasteurope.com of 21.10.2009 – and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, www.nih.gov), which is spending USD 30m on human and animal tests over a two-year period – see Plasteurope.com of 13.11.2009.
It is unclear when the FDA will finally release its assessment. Up to now, spokespeople have said only that it is “forthcoming,” which most US media have interpreted to mean soon. An FDA spokesperson cryptically told the “Los Angeles Times” that “it won’t be 2010.” By the time the findings are released, however, many polycarbonate producers are worried that the outcome will no longer be relevant. Many manufacturers of plastic bottles and products for children, for example, are switching to other materials.
The British Plastics Federation (BPF, London / UK; www.bpf.co.uk) meanwhile has labelled a campaign by “Breast Cancer UK” to ban bottles produced with BPA as “misleading and based upon a selective use of evidence.” BPF also said that a survey released by the organisation, which revealed that 61% of UK adults believe the government should ban BPA, is “not a good basis for assessing public sentiment,” as it featured “leading questions.”
08.12.2009 Plasteurope.com [215000]
Published on 08.12.2009