News Stories Archive | Page 3 of 11 | Facts About BPA

If you’ve ever heard of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), and who hasn’t, you probably have the distinct impression that it’s highly toxic.  After a steady drumbeat of more than 15 years suggesting that BPA is linked to virtually every health effect known to man, how could you think any differently?

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a draft report Feb. 23 from one of two distinct but complimentary arms of a study called the Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity, or CLARITY-BPA. This research initiative is studying the full range of potential health effects in rats from exposure to bisphenol A (BPA).

A long-awaited U.S. government study of the health effects of bisphenol A, a key building block of polycarbonate, seems to be giving the controversial chemical a clean bill of health in food packaging.

The largest-ever study on Bisphenol A (BPA) has confirmed that it is safe for consumers, says the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which conducted the multi-year research programme. European plastics manufacturers have welcomed the news. Speaking about the CLARITY-BPA core study, Dr Steven Ostroff, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, said: “Our initial review supports our determination that currently authorised uses of BPA continue to be safe for consumers.” Jasmin Bird, spokesperson of the Polycarbonate/BPA-group of PlasticsEurope, added: “This largest ever study conducted on the topic indicates that BPA has very little potential to cause health effects even when people are exposed to it throughout their lives.”

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been the subject of global controversy in recent years, with some jurisdictions restricting its use in children’s products and baby bottles due to concerns about potential exposure risks. FDA’s longstanding position on BPA is that BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods. On February 23, 2018, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) released for public comment a pre-peer review draft report on the findings of a comprehensive two-year rodent study examining the potential effects of BPA on health. The study – conducted by senior scientists at the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) – is part of a collaborative effort called the Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity (CLARITY-BPA).  CLARITY-BPA had two components: the core study conducted at NCTR according to FDA Good Laboratory Practice regulations and CLARITY-BPA academic studies of various health endpoints, conducted by grantees at academic institutions and using offspring of rodents derived from the core study…Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at FDA, issued a statement highlighting the fact that the draft report points towards “minimal effects” and supports FDA’s longstanding position that BPA, at current levels occurring in food is safe.

A long-awaited study on bisphenol A (BPA) has pointed towards ‘minimal effects’ and provided support to current US regulations. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a pre-peer review draft report on findings of the two-year rodent study examining potential effects of BPA on health…The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said an initial review supports its position that authorized uses of BPA in food containers and packaging continue to be safe for consumers.

Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at FDA, issued a statement highlighting the fact that the draft report points towards “minimal effects” and supports FDA’s longstanding position that BPA, at current levels occurring in food is safe. A peer-review meeting is scheduled for April 26, 2018 and will be open to the public.

Well, there’s yet more evidence out there that the hysteria about the chemical Bisphenol-A (more commonly called BPA) was just a bunch of hooey promoted by green activists who want BPA and many other useful and perfectly safe chemicals banned. I’ve written about BPA (here, here, and here, and for a useful fact sheet, go here) for years, trying to explain that BPA isn’t the scary thing it’s made out to be and now a two-year government study of rats has found that there’s really nothing to worry about. The study’s results are explained in an impressive 249-page report, which was a joint effort by the National Toxicology Program, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration. The study’s researchers are clear: "BPA produced minimal effects" and that the effects they did see appeared to be "within the range of normal biological variation” which means they could have occurred by chance…NPR also explains that many of the studies pushed by the anti-BPA crowd don’t meet the basics of scientific standards.

A February 23, 2018, statement from the Dr. Stephen Ostroff M.D., the Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the FDA should come as no surprise to anyone who has been reading the numerous articles we've written over the years about Biphenol-A (BPA). The American Council has been right all along - something that incompetent or dishonest environmental groups like the Environmental Working Group or the Natural Resources Defense Council, or pseudo-science Internet hucksters like Joe Mercola and Mike Adams, cannot be too happy to hear. After a thorough two-year study, the agency has released a draft report of the NTP (National Toxicology Program) Research Report on the CLARITY-BPA Core Study, which debunks the phony science and fear-mongering that has already occupied scientist for far too long.

Bisphenol A, a chemical commonly known as BPA and once widely used in canning and plastics, is unlikely to be harmful to people in the doses usually seen, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The FDA said a draft report on BPA’s effects in rats offers little to worry about. “Overall, the study found ‘minimal effects’ for the BPA-dosed groups of rodents,” Dr. Stephen Ostroff, an FDA deputy commissioner, said in a statement. The report covers years of testing BPA in many different groups of rats for two years.