FDA regroups on BPA
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA says Oct. 28 it plans to research and address the potential low-dose effects of bisphenol A, which is used in packaging for some infant formula and food products. The Science Board on Oct. 31 asked the agency to reconsider its finding that current levels of BPA that transfer to foods and are absorbed by children are safe. The board recommended this after its BPA subcommittee reported FDA overlooked multiple studies that it should have considered. Before FDA's advisory board rendered its opinion, a Journal of American Medical Association study concluded higher concentrations of BPA in human urine are associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities. The JAMA study prompted Congress to criticize FDA's conclusion (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 13, 2008, In Brief)