FDA Misses Own Deadline

Over the past year, Pulse of Health Freedom has focused on safety concerns regarding bisphenol A (BPA) and the FDA’s puzzling about-face on this issue. In February 2009 the American Association for Health Freedom filed a petition with the FDA, asking that it rule on the practice of giving children BPA in the form of dental sealants and composite fillings. But according to the Journal Sentinel, the FDA requested more time so its scientists could consider hundreds of new studies on the effects of this chemical.

The Breast Cancer Fund, the Environmental Working Group, and the National Resource Defense Council have all indicated they, too, will petition the FDA for an immediate action, including a total ban on food packaging containing BPA. (This newsletter has reported the discovery of traces of BPA even in food inside cans marked “BPA free.”)
There are some 600 studies focusing on the effects of BPA. In 2007, when the Journal Sentinel reviewed over 250 studies, it found that 80 percent of those which found harm from BPA were independently funded. Nearly 100 percent of those funded by BPA-manufacturers found no harm.
Although the FDA had previously ruled BPA to be safe on the basis of two studies funded by makers of BPA, the FDA’s own science board recommended a review to consider other studies done on BPA. The agency promised a ruling by Nov. 30, 2009, a deadline that has now come and gone.
What is the FDA, the agency that regulates food packaging, doing to ensure people’s safety? Consumers want to know.