EU votes to ban baby bottles with BPA

The European Union has voted to ban baby bottles containing the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) as of early next year over fears it might be harmful to children.

The EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health reached a qualified majority on a ban proposal, which will see the outlaw the manufacture of polycarbonate infant feeding bottles with BPA.

The ban will take effect in EU member states on March 1, 2011. The Standing Committee also said that June 1, 2011, imports of these bottles into the EU and their sales in the union would also be prohibited.

“There were areas of uncertainty, deriving from new studies, which showed that BPA might have an effect on development, immune response and tumor promotion,” said John Dalli, the EU’s commissioner in charge of health and consumer policy. “The decision…is good news for European parents who can be sure that, as of mid-2011, plastic infant feeding bottles will not include BPA.”

While presented by some as a victory for parents and consumers, the decision has been criticized by others. “The European producers of Bisphenol A and polycarbonate are deeply disturbed by the European Commission’s proposal to ban polycarbonate baby bottles,” said the Plastics Europe trade association. “This move is in direct contradiction to recently published assessments of BPA by two leading food safety and health agencies…there is no new scientific evidence showing adverse effects of exposure to BPA-based polycarbonate baby bottles that justifies the Commission’s decision.”  

BPA bans are also in place in Canada, Australia, and a few U.S. states.