Bisphenol-A Would Never Have Been Approved Today

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I attended [Sept. 16] the FDA's public meeting on Bisphenol-A and gave public comments.

One thing that struck me was there were 20 public commentators -- 2 were from industry, 2 were from animal rights groups (they were relatively neutral on the food uses, they just don't want any more animal tests), and the rest of the commentators were from public interest, environmental, health-affected groups (that's about 16 health groups--all speaking out against BPA's health effects). Even the lead investigator on a new BPA study put out by JAMA (highlighted yesterday in a US News and World Report article) was there to discuss his ground breaking work.

If this were a pre-market hearing to approve the use of BPA as a food additive, FDA would have a hard time saying BPA was safe. The vast majority of evidence suggests that even everyday levels of exposure to BPA can be associated with a number of different health issues.

We don't know yet how the committee will respond to all the testimony they heard yesterday. But it is clear that FDA is under intense pressure to make a very quick decision on finalizing this. We don't know where that pressure is coming from or what is motivating it but it is concerning that FDA is not taking the time to thoroughly review all the science. In the month since FDA published its draft conclusions, even more studies have come out showing evidence of harm in humans. And we can expect new studies next month too.

One of the big problems is that the FDA subcommittee has not had time to evaluate the new science on <BPA, even though it should be given ample time to make a decision that affects the health of millions of Americans.

FDA shouldn't be pressured and rushed when the health of our children is at stake.

- Sarah Janssen
Originally posted in the NRDC's Switchboard blog.

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