FDA updates on BPA activities
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Infant formula manufacturers are testing product samples on an ongoing basis to minimize bisphenol A in food contact applications and identify safe levels of the chemical. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is analyzing several infant formula brands with an updated testing method, Mitchell Cheeseman, deputy director of the Office of Food Additive Safety, said at an FDA Science Board meeting Feb. 24 in Gaithersburg, Md. Recent testing of 57 samples found a range of 0.02 to 10.55 µg of BPA per kg of infant formula, which Cheeseman calls "comparable to the existing data" on formula products. He added that FDA encourages industry to follow a voluntary "code of practice" - essentially good manufacturing practices for producing and filling infant formula cans - "to minimize BPA migration from existing packaging materials into" the product. The presentation was part of an ongoing dialog about BPA's safety in food contact applications (1"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 16, 2009, In Brief)