Health Canada officially declares BPA harmful
Canadian Plastics
Canadian PlasticsCanada has become the first country to formally declare bisphenol A (BPA) hazardous to human health, and the baby-p...
Canada has become the first country to formally declare bisphenol A (BPA) hazardous to human health, and the baby-product industry will no longer be able to use the chemical in baby bottles.
The announcement – published in the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada – came six months after Health Minister Tony Clement announced the government’s plan to place BPA on its list of toxic substances. Clement proposed a limited ban of the widely used chemical, also found in hard plastic sports bottles and the lining of food cans. While most people “need not be concerned” about the health effects of BPA, Clement said, “this is not the case for newborns and infants.”
The decision follows the publication of the first large BPA study in humans, released last month by the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found a “significant relationship” between exposure to the ubiquitous estrogenic chemical and heart disease, diabetes and liver problems.
The announcement commits the federal government to working with industry to limit BPA in the linings of infant formula tins, but does not propose to eliminate or reduce BPA in other canned goods, dental sealants, or themany other consumer products that contain the chemical.
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