March 6, 2009 — The top six makers of baby bottles in the U.S. have agreed
to stop using the polycarbonate plastic chemical
(BPA) in their bottles.
Connecticut’s Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that news
yesterday.
The six bottle makers who agreed to stop using BPA are Avent, Disney First
Years, Gerber, Dr. Brown, Playtex, and Evenflo.
In a news release, Blumenthal says he and the attorneys general of Delaware
and New Jersey wrote to those companies last October to ask that they stop
using BPA in baby bottles because of concerns about possible health risks.
Blumenthal calls the companies’ voluntary decision to quit using BPA “a
major public health victory.” Blumenthal also says he is seeking
“complete prohibition” of BPA in any product marketed for use by
children younger than 3, in containers of infant formula and baby food, and any
reusable food or beverage container if a safe alternative is available.
The FDA is studying bisphenol A, but hasn’t issued any warnings about BPA in
baby bottles or other consumer products.
last year that includes “some concern” about BPA’s possible
effects on the brain, prostate gland, and on behavior in fetuses, infants, and
children, and “minimal concern” for effects on the mammary gland and an
earlier age for female puberty in fetuses, infants, and children.
Last year, several major companies — including including Walmart, Toys
“R” Us, and Babies “R” Us — have backed away from baby bottles
containing bisphenol A, and
ditched bisphenol A in its consumer bottles.
The American Chemistry Council, a plastics industry trade group, emailed a
statement to WebMD acknowledging the baby bottle makers’ decision. The council
notes that the FDA has previously said that BPA has “an adequate margin of
safety at current levels of exposure from food contact uses, for infants and
adults.” The council also says it has and will “continue to develop
scientific data to inform credible, transparent scientific assessments of BPA
so that the public can have the confidence it deserves in the safety of these
products.”

children.webmd.com

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