When does no news becomes news? When a government agency remains silent on a promised ruling. The FDA had been scheduled to release a report on the safety of bisphenol A, an estrogen-like compound found in many baby bottles and other plastics - but it missed its Nov. 30 deadline. An agency official told Booster Shots last month that the ruling would come in 2009, but that didn't happen either. Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel took the FDA to task in an editorial:
Like many of those advocating for stiffer regulation of the chemical bisphenol A, we were frustrated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration missed another of its self-imposed deadlines for letting consumers know whether it considers BPA safe.
It's better to make the right decision than a hasty one. But we know this: There is ample reason to suspect BPA in a range of human illnesses.
The piece point outs that the chemical is believed to interrupt the body's endocrine system, and it mentions BPA has been banned for use in baby bottles in Canada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Chicago and two counties in New York. "We think it's clear that BPA should be banned in any product intended for children," it concludes.
Now it's a waiting game to see if the FDA agrees.
Previously: Bye, bye BPA baby bottles
Photo by timlewisnm
