Bisphenol-A

[The Silence and I]

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[quote]To ban or not to ban: Bisphenol-A in food is OK with FDA but not with some scientists
Friday, January 9, 2009 | 12:00 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — Over the years, the rise in obesity, heart disease and some cancers have been attributed to our food and drink intake. Routine visits to fast food drive-thrus for cheeseburgers and greasy fries clog our arteries. Not enough exercise and too many Little Debbies round out our tummies. But the use of Bisphenol-A, a chemical found in hard plastics and metal food cans, has significantly altered a contemporary cliche: It's not just what you eat, it's what you eat out of.

"This poses a threat," MU scientist Frederick vom Saal said of Bisphenol-A. "This will shorten lives."
How to avoid BPAs

Sure, dozens of products contain BPA, but it's not impossible to limit your exposure to the chemical.

* Do not heat plastic in the microwave. Instead of warming meals in plasticware, heat them on a plate.
* Do not use polycarbonate plastic drink bottles. Look for BPA-free alternatives or stainless steel. Many stores, including Clover's and Walmart, offer glass baby bottles and BPA-free sippy cups.
* If you're worried about recycled paper cups at your favorite cafe, take your own mug with you to the coffee shop. It's also usually cheaper.
* Avoid canned goods. Buy fresh, bagged, boxed or frozen foods.
* BPA mimics estrogen. Thus, it's especially important for women to avoid BPA during pregnancy.

Sources: Frederick vom Saal; Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie; Clover's employee Nellie Boyt; and National Toxicology Program.
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Bisphenol-A, also known as BPA, is an estrogen-like chemical used in many polycarbonate plastics. Polycarbonate plastics are the hard, see-through plastics used to make products such as baby bottles, reuseable water bottles and sippy cups.

The chemical also lines the inside of metal food cans. From canned sodas to canned corn to canned soup, anyone eating or drinking from cans is exposed to BPA. The chemical leaches from plastics and cans, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Studies have linked BPA exposure to obesity, heart disease and cancer, vom Saal said.

Vom Saal routinely compares BPA to tobacco and the cigarette companies' efforts to not have cigarettes labeled as detrimental to public health.

"They're going to end up like the tobacco companies, sued into the Stone Age," vom Saal said of BPA supporters.

Vom Saal has studied BPA since 1995. He is recognized as a premiere source of data on BPA. His research has been published in scientific journals and magazines, such as Nature, and he has testified in Washington, D.C., at hearings of the FDA. For more than a decade, vom Saal has publicly denounced BPA as a toxin and threat to public health.

The FDA, however, refuses to take any precautionary steps to reduce the public's exposure to BPA. In September, the agency declined to act on BPA, even though Canada took steps in April to reduce child exposure to BPA. In December, the FDA decided to compile more research on the chemical's effects.

BPA now floats in a state of limbo. Researchers argue that the chemical should be banned right away and that the FDA has acted without the public's interest in mind. Manufacturers of BPA, however, say opposing scientists lack proof that BPA causes disease.

Where is BPA?

Many day-to-day items are made of or use polycarbonate plastic, such as eyeglass lenses, CDs, helmets and computers, according to Bisphenol-A.org, a Web site of the American Chemistry Council. Because people don't eat out of helmets or these other items, the risk of exposure to BPA is not high. Research has shown that the greatest danger is BPA in food containers.

Baby bottles made of polycarbonate plastic leach BPA when heated. The scare lies in the amount of BPA contamination that occurs when babies drink warmed milk from these bottles. Plasticware, when heated, leaches BPA as well. And other plastic drinking products, such as sippy cups and reuseable water and sports bottles, leach BPA over time, whether they are heated or not.

Big name supermarkets, such as Walmart, have offered BPA-free baby bottles, with plans to offer only BPA-free baby bottles early this year.

Clover's Natural Market on Chapel Plaza Court phased out all polycarbonate water bottles in the past spring, Nellie Boyt, store team leader, said. Instead, the store carries stainless steel water bottles and BPA-free plastic bottles. Clover's also only sells BPA-free baby products, including teething rings.

The BPA-free water bottles sell at about the same rate as the polycarbonate bottles, Boyt said. And every week, she said, about three to four customers specifically request BPA-free baby products.

Boyt, who tries to avoid BPA herself and has even kicked her microwave to the curb, lamented that canned goods contain BPA. She hopes the U.S. implements a way to eliminate the chemical in canned goods.

"I'm excited to see BPA-free canned foods," Boyt said. "Like wow."

BPA protects canned food from contamination from the metal, but in exchange contaminates the food, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.

In March 2007, the group published its results on BPA in canned foods. The organization found that infant formula, ravioli and chicken soup contained the most BPA. One to three servings from any of the three had enough BPA to do harm, as reflected in previous animal studies, according to the group's Web site.

Research by vom Saal showed that BPA leached more in canned acidic foods, such as tuna. "Anything with tomato is a nightmare," he said.

In Japan, manufacturers switched to an ethylene lining for canned foods to avoid BPA contamination, vom Saal said. He says the U.S. should follow the Japanese and Canadian examples of reducing public exposure to BPA.

When comparing BPA levels in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people with the least income had more BPA in their systems than those with the highest income. Canned foods tend to be cheaper and easier than buying fresh or frozen.

Mike DeSantis, marketing director at the Central Missouri Food Bank, did not know how many canned goods were donated and turned over to recipients, but the BPA worry was not a worry of his.

"Our biggest concern is feeding hungry people, and we follow to the letter of the law every guideline," he said.

Another source of BPA is from recycled paper products. Vom Saal said that BPA has been found in carbonless recycled paper and store receipts.

"When you order pizza in a recycled paper box, you're being impregnated with Bisphenol-A," vom Saal said.

The science on Bisphenol-A

The CDC found that in 2007, 93 percent of the people they tested for BPA exposure had various levels of the chemical in their urine. Those with the highest levels were children.

The National Toxicology Program under the National Institutes of Health also concluded that BPA posed some danger. In its September report, it cited "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures to Bisphenol-A."

A June 2007 study published in the journal Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders linked diabetes to BPA. Bisphenol-A mimics estrogen, and high levels of estrogen in the body increases the body's sugar production, which can lead to diabetes and heart disease, vom Saal said. Rodent studies show that BPA stores itself in fat, and those with more fat deposits carry more BPA, he said.

No one should think that genetics, high-calorie foods and exercise no longer play a major role in heart disease and related illnesses. They do. But vom Saal says BPA worsens the situation. He has also found that when all other factors are equal, BPA causes breast cancer and early puberty in animals.

A study published in September in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed the strongest link between human intake of BPA and health effects. Of 1,455 people age 6 and older, those with the highest levels of BPA in their urine "were more than twice as likely to report having cardiovascular (heart) disease or diabetes" and "higher BPA levels were associated with clinically abnormal liver enzyme concentrations," according to the study briefing.

The writers, scientists from the University of Exeter, U.K., and University of Iowa, based their findings on data collected by the CDC's 2003-04 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study is the first large-scale look at BPA effects in humans, but it does not conclusively find that BPA causes heart disease or diabetes.

The FDA has used the lack of hard proof as a reason to decline to take drastic action on the chemical.

Much of the research on BPA tested animal exposure to the chemical. As of August, 218 animal test studies on BPA effects were published, according to vom Saal's research. About 86 percent, or 189 studies, found BPA negatively affected animals. About 13 percent, or 29 studies, found that BPA did not harm the test animals. Vom Saal says the chemical industry financially backed research that found no harm due to BPA.

The American Chemistry Council did not return numerous requests for an interview, but on its Web site stated that "the common ground we all share is a commitment to do what’s right to protect the health and safety of American consumers —adults and children alike.â€