FDA: BPA may be safe! Everyone else: Seriously?

What a peculiar coincidence that these two events happened on the same day:

New Research Raises Concerns About BPA Levels in Humans – WSJ.com
A chemical commonly used in plastic food and drink containers was associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to the first large-scale study in humans, released Tuesday.

The chemical, bisphenol-A or BPA, is used to make plastic hard and appears in products such as baby bottles, CDs and sunglasses. It is also used in resins that coat the inside of bottle tops and metal cans.

The study’s release, which will appear in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, coincides with a Food and Drug Administration panel meeting Tuesday on the subject.

The FDA, in a draft assessment of BPA, has concluded BPA is safe at current levels found in food and beverage containers. The FDA’s assessment relied primarily on industry data, and critics have charged the agency with ignoring other data, including a report released earlier this month by a unit of the National Institutes of Health, that raised safety questions.

The report by the National Toxicology Program said BPA was of “some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures.” Frank Torti, FDA’s chief scientist, has said the agency would consider the NIH report before making any decisions on BPA.

The FDA will ask a panel of outside medical experts to review its draft assessment and comment on whether it is scientifically sound. The bulk of BPA studies have been conducted in animals, and many have raised safety concerns.

Meanwhile in a country far far away…

Canada likely to label plastic ingredient BPA ‘toxic’
By Ian Austen
Published: April 16, 2008

OTTAWA: The Canadian government is said to be ready to declare as toxic a chemical widely used in plastics for baby bottles, beverage and food containers as well as linings in food cans.

Sometimes things just leave me speechless.