Time: FDA defends plastic linked with health risks

A Time Magazine article about the Food and Drug Administration's recent meeting on the safety of Bisphenol-A (BPA) highlights the confusing nature of the FDA's guidance on this health issue.

The FDA maintains that exposure to BPA - a chemical that mimics the female hormone estrogen in the human body and has been linked to numerous health problems including heart disease and cancer - is not a health threat. At the same time, the agency offered suggestions on how consumers can limit their exposure to the chemical.

Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA's office of food additive safety, suggested that people concerned about BPA exposure avoid plastic containers that are labeled "7" for recycling. People should also avoid warming food or putting hot liquid in those containers, Tarantino said, because heat helps release BPA.

 

More than 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies, but the FDA says the levels of exposure are too low to pose a health risk, even for infants and children.

However, a study released Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested a new concern about BPA. Because of the possible public health implications, the results "deserve scientific follow-up," the study authors said. Using a health survey of nearly 1,500 adults, they found that those exposed to higher amounts of BPA were more likely to report having heart disease and diabetes.

The FDA has the power to order manufacturers to stop using BPA in their plastic products, but the federal agency has declined to do that so far, saying exposure to the chemical is safe. The agency has been criticized by independent scientists for relying on studies funded by the chemical industry.

But scientists and the public have growing concerns about BPA, concerns that are supported by this recent study.

Researchers from Britain and the University of Iowa examined a U.S. government health survey of 1,455 American adults who gave urine samples in 2003-04 and reported whether they had any of several common diseases.

Participants were divided into four groups based on BPA urine amounts; more than 90 percent had detectable BPA in their urine.

A total of 79 had heart attacks, chest pain or other types of cardiovascular disease and 136 had diabetes. There were more than twice as many people with heart disease or diabetes in the highest BPA group than in the lowest BPA group. The study showed no connection between BPA and other ailments, including cancer.

No one in the study had BPA urine amounts showing higher than recommended exposure levels, said co-author Dr. David Melzer, a University of Exeter researcher.

The FDA is expected to come out with a final ruling on BPA this fall. In the meantime, some manufacturers are already producing plastic products that are BPA-free.