State attorneys general ask companies to avoid Bisphenol A in baby products

Based on evidence that bisphenol A may harm infants, attorneys general in Delaware, Connecticut, and New Jersey sent letters to 11 companies that make baby bottles and baby formula containers asking that they voluntarily stop using BPA in those products, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Connecticut’s Attorney General Richard Blumenthal cites studies that indicate BPA can attach to food in heated containers.

“The preventable release of a toxic chemical directly into the food we eat is unconscionable and intolerable,” he wrote.

Letters were sent Friday to baby bottle manufacturers Avent America Inc., Disney First Years, Gerber, Handicraft Co., Playtex Products Inc. and Evenflo Co., and formula makers Abbott, Mead Johnson, PBM Products, Nature’s One and Wyeth.

“Unfortunately the FDA has refused to do anything about it,” Blumenthal said on Oct. 13 “We’re asking the 11 manufacturers to do so voluntarily.”

The FDA has tentatively concluded that BPA is safe, but has given consumers some tips on how to reduce their exposure. Consumers can avoid plastic containers imprinted with the recycling number 7, as many of those contain BPA, and avoid warming food in such containers, the FDA said.

According to the Associated Press story, Michael Herndon, an FDA spokesman, said Monday that the agency has referred its risk assessment for further evaluation.

An FDA panel is expected to issue an opinion on the safety of BPA sometime this month. The panel's impartiality was recently put in question when it was reported that the head of the panel took a $5 million donation from a manufacturer who maintains BPA is safe.

UPDATE: Connecticut's Hartford Courant wrote an editorial supporting Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's move. Read it by clicking here.