July 15, 2011
Would you endanger the health of your baby if the evidence shows they are at risk from BPA exposure? Australian environmental health groups are calling for an immediate ban on bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical widely used in the manufacture of polycarbonate baby’s bottles, children’s products and food packaging such as tin liners.
China and Malaysia have now joined Canada and the European Union and announced bans on BPA in baby products. In Australia, regulators still say “The weight of scientific evidence currently available indicates that BPA in plastics does not present a risk to human health”.
Despite declaring BPA ‘safe’, the regulator admits “Nearly everyone experiences minimal levels of exposure to the BPA”.
BPA has been linked with breast, prostrate and other reproductive cancers, as well as heart disease and obesity.
While there is no mandatory standard or ban for consumer products containing BPA in Australia, the regulator has called on industry to voluntarily withdraw it from use in baby’s bottles.
BPA can be detected in our bodies, including babies and children, and is measured in food and water. Even fresh vegetables have been contaminated by the BPA leaching from the plastic used in hot houses.
Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith from the National Toxics Network recently appeared on 60 Minutes and exposed the dangers of BPA and highlights the difficult choices consumers are faced with in Australia with BPA baby’s bottles and children’s utensils still widely available in stores.
Watch 60 Minutes The Toxic Truth
Read the regulators justification for keeping BPA in Australian baby bottles BPA in Consumer Products – Product Safety Australia