Ottawa to ban baby bottles made with bisphenol A

[fishman3811]

The federal government announced Friday it intends to ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A, making Canada the first country in the world to limit exposure to the controversial chemical.

Health Minister Tony Clement told reporters at an Ottawa news conference the ban would come into force barring new information from a 60-day public comment period.

"We've concluded it's better to be safe than sorry," said Clement.

The ban would affect only baby bottles and not other food containers made with bisphenol A (BPA).

Clement said Health Canada's assessment shows that in most instances, negative health effects occur at levels much greater than those to which Canadians are exposed.

"This is not the case for newborns and infants," he added. "We have concluded that early development is sensitive to the effects of bisphenol A. Although our science tells us that exposure levels to newborns and infants are below levels that cause effects, we believe the current safety margin needs to be higher."

Clement also said Canadians can continue to use hard plastic reusable water bottles and plastic tableware and that Health Canada "will be providing some advice on how to use them properly."

BPA is a synthetic chemical compound found in some hard, clear plastics and resins such as food and drink containers, compact discs, electronics and the liners in many metal cans.

The minister said Health Canada's assessment is that the chemical does not pose a health concern for most Canadians.

Clement also said the government intends to work with industry to reduce the use of BPA in cans containing infant formula, but stressed that the health benefits of formula outweigh the potential risks presented by BPA.

On Thursday, a string of major retailers pulled plastic products containing the substance off their shelves in anticipation of a government announcement on BPA.

Studies in peer-reviewed journals have indicated that even at low doses, the chemical can increase breast and ovarian cancer-cell growth and the growth of some prostate cancer cells in animals.

Health Canada began reassessing bisphenol A, along with a number of other chemicals, in November 2007. The review looked at human and animal studies around the world into how much of the chemical is leaching from consumer products, such as plastic baby bottles and water bottles.

But the plastics industry has vigorously defended the chemical, noting that it's been widely used for 50 years.

In a release Friday, the American Chemistry Council, an industry group, said it respected the Canadian government's decision, while noting the assessment "confirms that health risks to the general population in Canada from exposure to bisphenol A are negligible."

While many retailers have already begun removing BPA products from their shelves, the packaging industry warns that a sudden ban on BPA could have a devastating economic impact, forcing people out of work in a number of industries.

Nalgene Outdoor Products â?? a manufacturer of popular water bottles made from hard, clear polycarbonate â?? announced Friday it will stop producing the containers because they are made with BPA.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company said it will phase out production over the next several months, but will continue to make containers from materials that do not contain the chemical.

Most of the concern surrounding the health implications of the chemical is linked to food and drink containers. While plastic baby and water bottles have garnered a lot of media attention, Cassandra Polyzou at Toronto-based Environmental Defence said canned foods are more worrisome.

Tin cans are not labelled with the symbol â?? the number seven inside a triangle â?? that marks water bottles containing BPA.

"And every tin can is heated, so there's almost a guarantee some BPA has leaked into the food," she told CBC News.

Polyzou said some studies have also shown tin can liners containing BPA break down more readily when they come into contact with fatty food such as fish and acidic food such as tomatoes and apple juice. It also breaks down more readily in the presence of alcohol

fishman3811 Reviewed by fishman3811 on 04-19-2008. Ottawa to ban baby bottles made with bisphenol A The federal government announced Friday it intends to ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A, making Canada the first country in the world to limit exposure to the controversial chemical. Health Minister Tony Clement told reporters at an Ottawa news conference the ban would come into force barring new information from a 60-day public comment period. "We've concluded it's better to be safe than sorry," said Clement. The ban would affect only baby Rating: 5

[fishman3811]

this is my friends south of the border....walmart and others have stopped selling products with BPA in them if you dont know which plastics have BPA in it...its pretty easy,any product with a recycleble 7 at the bottom of the container is probably a BPA product.....soooo please ask your senator or your congressman why this product is still being sold in your country....this chemical has beem linked to cancer and other ailments....sooo please dont use this product on your babies and lets get together and get this out of our food supply..........

[texas grass]

ive been hearing about this stuff more and more. i have never heard of this one in the plastics, but i know about the cans. most these chemicals are leached into us. ive also heard studies that every baby delivered in the west has teflon in the umbilical cord. every study of alstimerz had excess amounts of aluminum in the brain, and many other things. humans as a whole need to change whte way we do things or our kids and kids kids will have some major chemical reactions showing up in our genetics

thanks for the info, especially since i have a kid coming into the world soon.

[fishman3811]

Texas grass your welcome and since your going to have a baby soon use glass baby bottles to be safe,while were on the subject of chemicals leeching in our food supply i urge everyone not to use those 4 litre plastic milk jugs because they line them with formeldhyde (i dont think thats spelled right btw)to keep the milk from spoiling.anyway your body doesnt break it down and now funeral homes are using less embalming fluid now because thats what formeldhyde is.I dont know if there is any harm in having this chemical in your body but to be on the safe side just use the regular 2 litre cardboard milk containers because they use a natural presevative...

[silkyblue]

PVC IS Poly vinyl Chloride IT is in everything plastic
Ralph Nader says were killin ourself with PVC

Every stinkin thing is plastic. I hate plastic!
I dont buy plastic

Breast feed or buy the glass baby bottles, made by Evenflo, btw
they break when thrown from the crib

I did the whole sterile thing when I had my newborns



babies are precious

[fishman3811]

Silkyblue also i think thats why cancer rates are going up in north america we are slowly killing ourselves or corporations are slowly killing us in the name of making a buck.People have to wake up and say enough im not buying this because its poisoning me......Its funny as soon as our governmemt announced this BPA ban the plastics industry said there is no evidence of BPA hurting or causing cancer,but then sales of bottles with BPA dropped to nothing whithin a couple of days then major retail stores such as wal-mart announced that they would stop selling those products,so the people stopped buying and it was pulled from stores,so we can change things in this world......

[Mississippi Steve]

Before you post stuff like this, your really need to check it out.
and FWIW, BPA/bisphenol A is not even listed in the NIOSH Pocket Guide.

snopes.com: Reuse of Plastic Bottles

americanchemistry.com : <i>Today Show</i> Reverses 40 Years of Industry Science, Strikes Needless Fear in Millions

[stinkyattic]

FYI- phenols are used as plasticizers. Even if the plastic material itself is inert, the plasticizer may not be something you want to mess with. While we don't know the full extent of the effects of this yet on human health, it IS a subject being widely researched at University organic chemistry, analytical chem, environmental chem, biochem, and public health departments. The data is coming together, even if it isn't widely available yet.
Minimize your potential risks the easy way- use dishes you know to be inert. Ceramic, glass, stainless steel.

NEVER EVER microwave food in melamine dishes- those are the ones sold as picnic or outdoor tableware. Using these dishes cold is fine, and safe, but heating them excessively could pose health risks. Just for fun, put some cooked white rice and oil in one of those, and stick it in the nuker for 5 minutes and smell it after. You CAN smell the organics being released. Especially if the paint printed on the dish's surface is damaged. I run a lab that analyzes phenolic compounds and their metabolized relatives in tissue samples for a living...

Be safe, COOK in glass or stainless even if you STORE food in plastic.

[fishman3811]

Mississipi steve go tell that to the canadian government not me.I dont use baby bottles i dont use plastic cups or any kind of plastics to heat my food in because i know its not safe.But if you or anyone else wants to harm themselves than go ahead i really dont care.