BPA Update: How Science Works at the FDA

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 SupporterFinal Report on Bisphenol A: It May Harm KidsFDA Says BPA Is Safe For BabiesBisphenol A: How Wal-Mart Became the New FDAQuotes of the Day: Opinions on the FDA Declaring BPA SafeDon't Buy A Nalgene Water Bottle Until You Read ThisNalgene Dumps Bisphenol A Like Hot Potato :Possible Effects of BPAMore Bad News About Bisphenol A: It Interferes with Chemotherapy TreatmentsYet Another Bisphenol A Pile-on: Linked to Heart Disease, Diabetes and Liver ProblemsNew Study: BPA May Make You Stupid and DepressedSources of BPA:Bisphenol A Is In Your Tomato SauceBisphenol A Could Be In Your TeethBPA Danger may be greater from Tin Cans than Water BottlesPolycarbonate Water bottlesCanada Calls Bisphenol A "Dangerous" Time to Pack In the PolycarbonatesBottled Water - Lifting the Lid :MEC Nixes Nalgenes