FDA rejects petition to ban BPA in food packaging, due in part that humans seem to rid their bodies of toxicins quicker the lab rats.

Timeline: BPA from Invention to Phase-Out

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plastics chemical invented nearly 120 years ago and currently used in enormous amounts to manufacture hard plastic water bottles and to make epoxy linings of metal food cans, like those for canned infant formula. Although its long-time use in consumer products has come with assurances of its safety from industry, studies conducted over the past 20 years now show it to be not only a ubiquitous pollutant in the human body – it contaminates nearly 93% of the population – but also a potent developmental toxin at very low doses.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it was denying a petition to ban BPA from all food and drink containers, saying the science does not show an immediate cause for such action.

However, the federal agency cautioned that this ruling does not declare bisphenol A, or BPA, as safe. The agency says it is continuing its assessment of the chemical, which is used in the lining of most canned food and drinks.

• Exposure to BPA of human infants is from 84% to 92% less than previously estimated.
• The level of BPA from food that could be passed from pregnant rodents to their unborn offspring is so low that it could not be measured. Researchers fed pregnant rodents 100 to 1,000 times more BPA than people are exposed to through food, and could not detect the active form of BPA in the fetus eight hours after the mother’s exposure.
• People of all ages process and rid their bodies of BPA faster than the rodents used as test animals do.

Friday’s action comes as a response to a petition filed in 2008 by the Natural Resources Defense Council claiming that the chemical poses a serious threat to human health.

Chemical industry lobbyists praised the government decision.

“FDA’s decision today, which has taken into consideration the best available science, again confirms that BPA is safe for use in food-contact materials, as it has been approved and used safely for four decades,” said Steve Hentges, senior scientist with the American Chemistry Council.

While the chemistry council is characterizing Friday’s move as the government “closing the books” on the petition, it does not mean that the FDA has decided once and for all that BPA is safe.

BPA, a synthetic estrogen developed more than 70 years ago, came into wide use in the 1960s and 1970s to make polycarbonate plastic for such things as baby bottles. It is also used as an epoxy resin to line metal cans. BPA can be found in cellphones, dental sealants, eyeglasses, as a coating for cash register receipts and hundreds of other household items.more

Why Synthetic Estrogens Wreak

Havoc On Reproductive System

ScienceDaily (Mar. 31, 2008) — Researchers at Yale School of Medicine now have a clearer understanding of why synthetic estrogens such as those found in many widely-used plastics have a detrimental effect on a developing fetus, cause fertility problems, as well as vaginal and breast cancers.

Why Am I Fat? Four Surprising Reasons

1. Stress

While research hasn’t yet determined all the factors in the stress-weight gain feedback loop, there appears to be evidence that stress leads to weight gain — just as putting on a few pounds can lead to stress.

2. Lack of Sleep

Cutting-edge sleep researchers are learning that our round-the-clock schedules may impact our health in surprising ways. While scientists don’t yet know why, studies continue to show that those who don’t get enough deep restful sleep tend to gain weight.

3. Baby Formula

What could be wrong with baby formula? The point here has more to do with the benefits of breast-feeding during the first months of life than the demerits of any particular brand of baby formula.

4. Obesogens

Never heard of “obesogens”? That’s because it’s a scientific term for chemicals that mess with the hormones that regulate our metabolism, and cause us to gain weight. In recent years, scientists have studied all sorts of substances — they call them “endocrine-disrupting chemicals” — that our bodies mistake for hormones.

Bisphenol A
This common chemical, which is used in a variety of plastics and in the lining of food and drink cans, can leach into foods (or directly into the bodies of babies chewing on teethers or toys) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found it in about 9 of 10 Americans tested.