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Emails Suggest Cozy FDA-BPA Industry Relationship

Retailers drop products containing BPA despite FDA's position

May 20, 2009

• Study: Pregnant Women 'Contaminated With Chemicals' From Everyday Products • Study Claims Phthalates Exposure In Pregnancy Diminishes Masculinity • Study Finds Sexual Problems in Human Males Exposed to High BPA Levels • Feds Launch New Study of BPA Safety, Industry Critics Blast Consumer Reports Study • Tests Find Wide Range Of BPA In Canned Soups, Juice And More • More Kids' Products Found Containing Unsafe Chemicals • Study: BPA Exposure in Pregnancy May Cause Aggressiveness in Girls • California Senate Votes to Ban BPA In Food Containers • Harvard Study Raises BPA Concerns • Emails Suggest Cozy FDA-BPA Industry Relationship • Chinese Lawsuit Claims Toxins in American Soap, Shampoo • Babies, Bathtime, and Cancer? • Group Raps "Toxic" Bubble Bath • Six Companies Stop Using Bisphenol-A In Bottles • Judge Orders Feds to Stop Sale of Toxin-Laden Toys • Lawsuit Seeks Immediate Ban on Toxic Toys • Advisory Panel Blasts FDA Over Bishphenol-A Stand • Soon-To-Be-Banned Plastic Toys Flooding the Market • States Act On BPA in Baby Bottles • Unstable Furniture Poses Deadly Danger To Children • California Sues Baby Furniture Manufacturers • Study Links BPA with Various Diseases • FDA Again Finds BPA Safe Despite Critics' Concerns • Consumer Advocates Blame Lobbyists for Delays in New Toy Safety Rules • Shower Curtains May Be Hazardous to Your Health • ‘Killer Cribs’ Study Finds Toxins in Common Baby Products • FDA Not Worried About BPA but Critics Demand Moratorium • Wal-Mart Bans BPA, Other Retailers Likely to Follow • War on Plastic Toys Escalates • Plastic War Hits The Toy Industry • Groups Warn Baby Bottles Leach Toxic Substance • Study Warns Chemical In Baby Shampoo May Cause Harm • 'Toxic' Water Bottles Take Top Spot in Dubious Data Awards • Group Hits Apple Over 'Toxic' iPhone • California Bans Plastic-Softening Chemical in Toys • Group Warns of Polluted Air Inside Cars • Watch Out for Hidden Toy Hazards

Despite accumulating evidence and moves by retailers to drop products containing bisphenol A — commonly called BPA — the Food and Drug Administration’s official position remains that the chemical can be safely used to make infant formula bottles.

Now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that it has obtained emails that it says show the FDA relied on chemical industry lobbyists to help reach that conclusion.

The emails show the lobbyists examined BPA’s risks, tracked legislation that would have limited or banned it, and even monitored news coverage.

In one case, the newspaper reports the FDA’s deputy director requested information from the chief industry lobbyist to discredit a study that found the chemical caused miscarriages in workers exposed to it.

In the document published by the newspaper, Mitchell Cheeseman, deputy director of the FDA’s center for food safety and applied nutrition, said: “I’d like to get information together that our chemists could look at to determine if there are problems with that data in advance of possibly reviewing the study.”

In a report last October, a scientific panel assembled by the FDA to study the agency's position on the controversial found a lot to criticize. While not taking a position on whether BPA is safe, the panel criticized the FDA for allegedly ignoring studies that claim BPA is dangerous.

In ignoring that research, the panel said, the FDA is creating what it called a false sense of security among consumers, who assume products containing BPA pose no threat because the FDA says its safe.

Baby bottles

Some retailers, including Wal-Mart, have taken those studies very seriously, pulling products containing BPA from their shelves, if the products are intended to be used by children.

BPA is widely used in plastic manufacturing, since it is added to plastic to make it more rigid. It's used in clear, plastic water bottles, for example. It's also found in infant formula bottles.

Studies have suggested that's not a safe use, since the animal studies involving the chemical have linked it to changes in body chemistry, and in some cases to increased cancer risk.

At present, the FDA's position is that the levels of BPA in products used by both adults and children are not high enough to cause a health risk in humans. In taking issue with that position, the panel said the FDA does not have an adequate number of infant formula samples and relies too heavily on averages, rather than accounting for variability in the samples.

It also noted that new research on BPA in adult humans and animals was published after the FDA draft report, but was not included in the final report. It took issue with the margins of safety for BPA exposure cited by the agency, as being inadequate.

The FDA, at the time, said the advisory panel "raised important questions" and said the whole issue needs more study.

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