BPA Update: How Science Works at the FDA
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 10.27.08
Parents are throwing away the bottles, but what about the cans?
When it comes to covering the Bisphenol A beat, Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel deserve a lot of credit and maybe even a Pulitzer for their wall-to-wall expose on how the Food and Drug Administration has done its job. They broke the story about how the subcommittee chair Martin Philbert's institute received a cool $5 million around when he was appointed, which has led to a congressional inquiry.
But wait, there's more! Now they write that the report "claiming that bisphenol A is safe was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a financial stake in the controversial chemical. "
"Although the Food and Drug Administration will not reveal who prepared its draft, the agency's own documents show that the work was done primarily by those with the most to gain by downplaying concerns about the safety of the chemical.
Stephen Hentges, executive director of the American Chemistry Council's group on bisphenol A, who commissioned a review of all studies of the neurotoxicity of bisphenol A and submitted it to the FDA. The FDA then used that report as the foundation for its evaluation of the chemical on neural and behavioral development."
"The newspaper reviewed the body of evidence that the task force considered. It found memos with entire sections blacked out, reviews commissioned by the American Plastics Council, an arm of the American Chemistry Council, and reviews completed by consulting firms with clients who have financial interests in the sale of bisphenol A."
In yet another article they write:
"Also on Thursday, a group of three dozen scientists from around the world issued a scathing review of the FDA's draft, calling it misguided and scientifically flawed.
The article, which is published online in the government-sponsored journal Environmental Health Perspectives, says the draft used guidelines and protocols that gave an unfair advantage to industry scientists." More in the Journal-Sentinel.
It just keeps getting worse.
Background on BPA:
BPA Update: Canada Declares it Toxic, FDA Chair's Donor was Michigan's "First Polluter"
FDA Chair Studying BPA Took $5 Million Donation From BPA Supporter
Final Report on Bisphenol A: It May Harm Kids
FDA Says BPA Is Safe For Babies
Bisphenol A: How Wal-Mart Became the New FDA
Quotes of the Day: Opinions on the FDA Declaring BPA Safe
Don't Buy A Nalgene Water Bottle Until You Read This
Nalgene Dumps Bisphenol A Like Hot Potato :
Possible Effects of BPA
More Bad News About Bisphenol A: It Interferes with Chemotherapy Treatments
Yet Another Bisphenol A Pile-on: Linked to Heart Disease, Diabetes and Liver Problems
New Study: BPA May Make You Stupid and Depressed
Sources of BPA:
Bisphenol A Is In Your Tomato Sauce
Bisphenol A Could Be In Your Teeth
BPA Danger may be greater from Tin Cans than Water Bottles
Polycarbonate Water bottles
Canada Calls Bisphenol A "Dangerous"
Time to Pack In the Polycarbonates
Bottled Water - Lifting the Lid :
MEC Nixes Nalgenes
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I loved the caption for the picture:
"Parents are throwing away the bottles, but what about the cans?"
What about the *formula*? Babies have the same tastebuds as grownups. Try drinking formula sometime. Or even just smelling it. It's disgusting crap. My son thought so as well, and anytime we gave him any, he'd throw it all back up.
Nevermind the fact that it's completely devoid of the antibodies babies need to survive their first couple of years.
Yet, for some bizarre reason, mothers actually believe that it's easier than breastfeeding. Yes, I'm well aware of how much it sometimes hurts. But *easier?* What could possibly be easier than putting a boob in a kid's mouth? According to Enfilmac, it's bringing water to a full boil for 5 minutes, letting it cool to body temperature, mixing the formula, putting it in a bottle, and giving it to the kid. While you're waiting for all that to happen, don't forget to thoroughly sterilize the bottle and the "good as natural" rubber nipple. Oh, and do all that with a screaming baby in your arms at 3am, while you've been living on 4 hours of sleep every night for the past month. Because Enfilmac recommends that you do that every time you make formula, and not to make a bunch and keep it in the fridge. Reheating it apparently spoils the formula.
I go by my good friend Jerry Mander's mantra...
"Treat everything as being guilty until proven innocent."