BPA -

After years and years of protests and outcry from numerous public interest groups, it’s finally official:  BPA has been banned from baby bottles and sippy cups.

Some will say that the initiative has been a long time coming.  For awhile now, bisphenol-A, or BPA as it’s more commonly known, has had its safety questioned by medical professionals and the public at large.  Studies have shown that rats and animals, when exposed to BPA, have the development of their reproductive and nervous systems impeded.  Researchers maintain that these findings could also be applied toward humans.

The Food and Drug Administration disagreed with that assessment, with the government putting $30 million toward evaluating the potential effect on human beings.  However, this hasn’t stopped some people from expressing their worry.  Pediatrics published a report last year that showed moms whose urine had heightened levels of BPA largely had daughters who tended to be hyperactive, depressed, or anxious.  Yesterday, that same journal reiterated the danger with a study showing that high levels of BPA in tooth fillings might be also be a signpost for these same behaviors.

Given what many perceive as a threat, most consumers likely aren’t surprised by the FDA’s newest move.  What might come as a surprise, though, is that the move has absolutely nothing to do with safety and everything to do with BPA’s current prevalence.  The FDA made the decision because the chemical has been phased out by all major children’s product bottlers.  The American Chemistry Council had asked the organization to ban BPA based off of this reason.  Safety concerns might have led to the phase-out, but it’s the phase-out that led to the new ban.

Some are likely going to be of the opinion that this ban does not go far enough.  After all, BPA can still be found in the urine of 9 out of 10 Americans.  Canned goods and water bottles still contain BPA so that the items won’t be easily spoiled, and even such things as CDs and dental sealants use the chemical.  Some manufacturers, such as Campbell’s Soup, have pledged to cease using BPA, but as of right now, the chemical is still fairly widespread.

The FDA still insists that BPA is safe for use in food containers, a sentiment largely echoed by the chemical industry.  Certain members of Congress take umbrage with this finding and are trying to pass legislation that would institute a ban.  It’s possible, though, that this new announcement could cut off those efforts at the knees.

No matter what happens in the future, at least we can now rest assured that BPA will be outlawed in the aforementioned children’s products.

For quite some time now, consumers and lawmakers have been trying to get the Food and Drug Administration to ban a chemical known as bisphenol A, or BPA, from the packaging of various food and drink items.  The FDA recently denied petitions calling for a ban on BPA in such items, but that doesn’t mean that the effort has been a complete loss.

Thanks to a clause about abandonment, the FDA is now seriously considering banning the chemical from containers of infant formula.  Lawmakers were able to demonstrate that most manufacturers already no longer use BPA in their infant products containers.  By positing this argument, petitions can be filed on the grounds that a certain item’s use has been abandoned anyway.  Therefore, it becomes possible to avoid the safety issue entirely yet still get BPA banned.

A comment period has now been opened on BPA’s use in infant formula, and the FDA hopes to reach a final decision within 90 days.

New studies have suggested that BPA could contribute to cancer, heart disease, or behavioral problems in children that are exposed to it.  However, this research has yet to prove anything conclusively.  This, combined with the fact that many food and beverage makers still implement BPA within their packaging, led the FDA not to consider banning BPA’s use among all products.

No matter the safety issues, parents will likely be happy to hear they may not have to worry about their infant’s food coming into contact with BPA anymore.

Even as studies continue to be carried out and hypotheses tested, the Food and Drug Administration has come out and said that they can find no evidence that BPA would pose a danger to humans.

This issue has risen to the fore in recent months and years, with consumer advocates pointing to animal studies that they say showed an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive issues when animals were exposed to Bisphenol A.  The FDA, however, has said that after reviewing studies, they can find nothing that would suggest this damage would carry over to people.

BPA has been used to make plastics and small levels of it may be found in cans and plastic bottles.  As a result, trace amounts of BPA can be transferred to food and drink.  Hundreds of studies have been conducted testing whether this could be dangerous, but the FDA has said they have looked into these studies and concluded that a diet with these trace amounts of BPA would not pose a risk.

The FDA goes even further than that, as a matter of fact, taking to task a previous claim that infants are exposed through an inordinate amount of BPA in their foods.  They have instead said that in babies and adults alike, BPA gets metabolized and ejected from the body.

As a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, I’ve seen numerous people affected by dangerous chemicals.  No matter what the decision is on BPA, I will be paying attention as a San Francisco personal injury lawyer to examinations of all chemicals by the FDA and consumer advocates.

According to the morning news, products tested by the Breast Cancer Fund have shown signs of containing bisphenol A also known as BPA. The items tested by the Fund’s researchers consisted on varied canned foods used in Thanksgiving dinners.

The reports from the Breast Cancer Fund claim that BPA is directly linked to health effects like infertility, breast or prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes and even some neurological disorders.

This chemical has already been severely restricted in a few U.S. states and Canada although it has been used in food-can liners for many years.  Reports show that the presence of BPA can have something to do with the canning processes at the various facilities responsible for the products. Sometimes even transportation and storage conditions may make a difference in the contents of the products.

The items tested by the Breast Cancer Fund include Campbell’s Turkey Gravy, Green Giant Cut Green Beans (by General Mills), Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Libby’s Pumpkin (by Nestle), Carnation Evaporated Milk (by Nestle), Del Monte Fresh Cut Sweet Corn (Cream Style) and Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

As a Los Angeles product liability lawyer, I urge all readers to be aware of using such products on your everyday diet. Personal injury lawyers can assure you, there are many cases related to permanent injuries caused by contaminated products that can be fatal. Remember to return to this blog regularly so you will always know what food products are being recalled.

The American Chemical Council has requested that the Food and Drug Administration formally ban BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups, according to recent news sources.

In a letter to the FDA, the group noted that Canada, Malaysia, China, the European Union, and ten U.S. states have recently banned BPA, or Bisphenol-A, in the use of both baby bottles and sippy cups.

The FDA has said that there is concern about the effects of BPA on the brain, prostate glands, and behavior in fetuses and young infants. Studies are currently being conducted to further evaluate BPA risks.

As a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, child and consumer safety is the number one priority at our law firm. I hope that the FDA will take action to ensure that children’s products are free from contamination. I know that even with all of the rules and regulations imposed on product manufacturers, things can still go wrong and sometimes companies even put profit before safety. If you or a loved one has been affected by an unsafe consumer product please do not hesitate to call a product defect lawyer right away. The longer you wait the more chance you have of losing evidence for your potential product liability case.