US Democrats urge for ban on canned food chemical
[2008-6-12]
Democratic lawmakers pushed this week for a ban on a chemical used in canned food, water bottles and other household items amid safety concerns. However in other quarters government experts insist that too much has been made of the substance's possible risks in canned food.
Bisphenol A has been used to package canned food and make shatterproof bottles for decades. But in recent years the plastic hardener has come under attack from consumer groups, who point to animal studies showing it can cause developmental problems and precancerous growths.
Government scientists from across the board have given conflicting assessments of the chemical's risks in canned food at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing. Democrats in the committee have been investigating the government's handling of bisphenol A and a related chemical family phthalates, which are used to soften plastic.
The levels of bisphenol "from food contact materials, including exposures for infants and children, are well below the levels that may cause health effects," said Norris Alderson, the Food and Drug Administration's associate director for science.
But the agency has agreed to reevaluate the chemical's safety after an April report by government toxicology experts concluded there is "some concern" about whether bisphenol can change infant's hormone levels, brain development and lead to early puberty in girls.
Bisphenol leaches out of canned food, and about 93 percent of Americans have traces of it in their urine, according to studies done on bottles and canned food by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 6 million pounds of bisphenol are produced in the U.S. each year by Dow Chemical, Bayer AG and other manufacturers.
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