Plastic Bottles May Be Harmful

FDA shifts stance on safety of BPA.
In a front-page story, the New York Times (1/16, A1, Grady) reported, "In a shift of position, the Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol-A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging that it declared safe in 2008." On Friday, the FDA said it has "some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children." While the agency plans to "join other federal health agencies in studying the chemical in both animals and humans," federal "officials said there was no proof that BPA was dangerous to humans." FDA principal deputy commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said, "If we thought it was unsafe, we would be taking strong regulatory action."
Dr. Sharfstein explained, "We have some concern, which leads us to recommend reasonable steps the public can take to reduce exposure to BPA," the Washington Post (1/16, Layton) added. "Sharfstein said the agency is conducting 'targeted' studies of BPA, part of a two-year, $30 million effort by the administration to answer key questions about the chemical that will help determine what action, if any, is necessary to protect public health.