The FDA rejected a petition to ban bisphenol A from food and beverage containers, saying petitioners failed to supply convincing evidence for new restrictions. Plastics marked with recycling codes 3 and 7 may contain BPA, while codes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are very unlikely to.
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Food
Eating Canned Food Shown to be Linked to Heart Disease
New data from a long-running British health survey link high urinary BPA to increased heart disease risk, which the piece stresses is not proof of cause. One study found eating canned goods raised participants' urinary BPA concentrations by more than 1,000 percent.
Chemical
Plastic Fantastic (not!)
A columnist describes throwing out plastic bowls, spatulas, chopping boards and an electric kettle for stainless steel and bamboo, after a study linked canned soup to higher BPA levels. She concedes plastics rank below smoking or obesity as a risk, but calls them avoidable.
Chemical
Eating canned food can get you toxic bisphenol A
People who ate a serving of canned soup daily for five days had urinary BPA of 22 micrograms per liter, against 1 to 2 in those who did not - a rise of more than 1,200 percent. BPA lines metal cans and has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.
Chemical
Environmental toxin Bisphenol A can affect newborn brain
Uppsala University researchers report that animals exposed to bisphenol A during early brain development showed altered spontaneous behavior, adapted poorly to new environments and were hyperactive as young adults. The effect on the cholinergic signal system persisted into adulthood.
Chemical
Exposure to chemical BPA before birth linked to behavioral, emotional difficulties in girls (PR)
Researchers led by Harvard School of Public Health report in Pediatrics that girls exposed to bisphenol A in the womb showed more behavioral and emotional problems. BPA turns up in canned food linings, polycarbonate plastics, dental sealants and some thermal-paper receipts.
Chemical
U.S. Scientists Find BPA in Canned Foods (PR)
An FDA study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found BPA in 71 of 78 canned foods, with canned green beans reaching 730 parts per billion. EWG, whose 2007 tests found the chemical in 55 of 97 cans, says buyer beware is not adequate health policy.
Food Chemicals
Effect of BPA chemical exposure on a developing fetus
Penn State researchers following 367 children found that higher maternal urinary BPA at 16 weeks of pregnancy was associated with roughly double the odds of wheezing at six months. Levels at 26 weeks or at birth showed no such link, suggesting early pregnancy is more vulnerable.
Chemical
BPA exposure may be associated with wheezing in children (PR)
A Penn State researcher followed 367 children whose mothers almost all had detectable BPA in urine during pregnancy. At six months, wheezing odds were twice as high where mothers' BPA was higher. Only 16-week levels were associated with wheezing, not those at 26 weeks or birth.
Chemical
Canned food, packaged foods are major sources for BPA and phthalates
Twenty people from five families cut urinary BPA by 66% and DEHP metabolites by 53 to 56% during three days of eating fresh food instead of their usual canned and packaged meals, Silent Spring Institute researchers found. Maximum reductions reached 76% and 93 to 96%.
Environment
Chemicals found in pregnant women may hurt babies
UCSF researchers screened 269 pregnant American women for 163 chemicals and found 99 to 100 percent carried PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phthalates, PBDEs and others, with BPA in 96 percent. Several were at levels other studies have linked to harm in children.
Environment
This Surprising Toxin Can Lead to Genetic Defects and Miscarriages…
Senator Dianne Feinstein withdrew her amendment to ban bisphenol A from baby bottles and sippy cups, and the ban is no longer under consideration. Mercola notes that 81 percent of 115 published animal studies found effects from low-level BPA exposure.
Cancer
Pink news: Plastic chemical may promote breast cancer development
A study in Environmental Health Perspectives found low nanomolar concentrations of bisphenol A blunted the effect of the chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin, cisplatin and vinblastine in two breast cancer cell lines, independent of the classical estrogen receptors. The work was done in cultured cells.
Watch-List
Which Infant Formulas Contain Hidden Toxic Chemicals?
CDC researchers found perchlorate, a thyroid-affecting rocket fuel chemical, in 15 brands of powdered infant formula; the two most contaminated held 87 percent of the 2000 US market. The study named no brands, but Mother Jones identified them as Similac and Enfamil.
Environment
BPA in receipts can affect male fertility
A Reproductive Toxicology study of 190 men recruited at an infertility clinic found BPA in 89 percent of them, with exposure linked to declines in sperm concentration, motility and shape. Another study found the chemical is high in cash register receipts, not just food packaging.
Environment
Cash register can be a BPA polluter
An Environmental Working Group study found nearly 40 percent of thermal paper receipts tested carried high levels of bisphenol A, which no visual check detects, and that sweaty hands lift some of it off. The National Toxicology Program has voiced concern about BPA and children's brains.
Food Chemicals
Prenatal exposure to BPA, DES may boost breast cancer risk
Pregnant mice exposed to BPA or DES produced offspring with raised levels of EZH2, a protein that controls gene expression and whose higher levels are linked to breast cancer risk in humans. Yale's Hugh Taylor says even weak estrogens can alter breast development.
Food Chemicals
Plastic chemical triggers allergic asthma
In an animal study presented to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, mice whose mothers drank water containing 10 micrograms of BPA per mL developed airway problems; those exposed to lower doses or none did not. The researchers were testing which exposure levels matter.
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