"FDA Says It's Unable To Regulate BPA"

"U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials say they are powerless to regulate BPA, although they have declared the chemical to be a safety concern for fetuses, babies and young children.

A quirk in the rules allows BPA makers to skirt federal regulation.

'We may have to go after legislation to change it,' Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA's principal deputy director, told the Journal Sentinel. The newspaper has been investigating the government's lack of regulation regarding BPA for three years.

FDA officials announced Friday that they had reversed their position that bisphenol A is safe. The chemical, used to line most food and beverage cans, has been found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested.

The agency now considers BPA to be of some concern for effects on the brain, behavior and prostate glands of fetuses and the very young. Scientific studies have raised concerns about the chemical's link to breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, reproductive failures and behavioral problems."

Meg Kissinger reports for the Milwaukeee Journal Sentinel January 17, 2010.

See Also:

"Reversing Itself, FDA Expresses Concerns Over Health Risks From BPA" (Washington Post)

"FDA Issues BPA Guidelines" (Los Angeles Times)

"FDA Pledges Closer Look at Chemical Bisphenol A in Plastics" (Boston Globe)

"Fed up With BPA in Your Food? Here's How To Reduce Risks" (USA TODAY)