WASHINGTON — New Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg has said the agency is reexamining its position about the safety of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in food containers. Her announcement came on the heels of a request by pair of federal lawmakers to do just that, The Associated Press (AP) reported June 3.

US Reps. Henry Waxman, D-CA, and Bart Stupak, D-MI, in a June 2 letter asked Hamburg to reexamine BPA, a plastic hardener used in the manufacture of polycarbonate water bottles, baby bottles and other food packaging.

Questions have been raised about whether, in the amounts it is present in food containers, BPA can cause health problems.

Hamburg has assigned the FDA’s chief scientist, Dr. Jesse Goodman, to review the case, according to the AP report. FDA spokesman Michael Herndon was quoted as saying that Goodman “intends to review all the data, listen to people on all sides of this issue, and talk to experts inside and outside of the federal government.” Herndon noted that the agency’s review will be completed in “weeks, not months.”

Last December, the FDA agreed to continue to review the use of BPA in food contact applications, while maintaining the position that the chemical is safe. That decision followed a finding in October by a panel of FDA scientific advisors that FDA’s draft safety assessment of the chemical in food contact applications was inadequate. In August, the FDA said that the public was not at risk from BPA, as WaterTech Online® reported.

The Los Angeles Times reported June 2 that the California Senate approved legislation to ban BPA in some food applications.

Similar legislation is pending in other states.

To read the full AP report, click here.

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