US research findings show BPA safe for consumers

09 August 2007 04:58  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Bisphenol-A (BPA) presents only minimal concerns to human health and is safe for consumer use, the American Chemistry Council said on Thursday after evaluating the findings of an expert panel.

BPA is used primarily to make polycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resins. PC is used in a wide range of consumer applications from baby bottles to eyeglass lenses while epoxy resins are commonly used as protective coatings in metal cans.

The scientific review, which was conducted by the National Toxicology Program’s Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), found that human exposure to BPA was extremely low and suggested additional research might be helpful to provide further support for their conclusions.

"The conclusions reported today provide strong reassurance to consumers that they are not at risk from use of products made from BPA," said Steven G Hentges, of the council’s PC/BPA group.

"With the safety of common consumer products in mind, we strongly support scientific research on the safety of BPA and have conducted extensive research ourselves for many years," he added.

Meanwhile, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), which represents the leading makers of baby bottles in the US, also stated on Thursday its support of the CERHR findings.

"The panel’s conclusions today reaffirm the safety of plastic baby bottles," said Robert Waller, president of the JPMA.

Scientists who have conducted safety studies on BPA include the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) and the Japanese National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology, the JPMA said in its statement.

By: Jeanne Lim
+65 6780 4359

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