Six manufacturers recall BPA-bottles

Connecticut, March 6: Following the health risks posed by Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastics, six infant bottle manufacturers including Philips Avent will discontinue selling BPA-bottles in the United States.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal together with Connecticut and New Jersey Attorney Generals urged the manufacturing companies in writing to stop the production voluntarily, after which six manufacturers agreed to follow it.

"The evidence seems too clear and emphatic and unequivocal to say we should simply permit this stuff to go into children on a massive scale and there's no reason for it, because there are substitutes available," said Blumenthal.

The most controversial BPA, used widely on commercial basis by plastic industry since 1950, has been linked to health hazards to developing organs in humans. Many daily-use items contain BPA including containers, eyeglasses and compact discs.

The chemical resembles estrogen hormone in humans and hence, might interfere with the endocrine system, particularly a threat to fetuses, infants and young children who have developing organs.

A recent federal survey suggested that Bisphenol A is present in almost 93 percent of the population in United States. BPA is associated with breast cancerdefine, obesity, cardiacdefine disease, diabetes, and liver disorders by over 130 studies. It is also reportedly linked to brain function problems and mood disorders when tested on monkeys.

However, the FDA asserted that BPA is harmless, taking into account the finding of two large-scale studies. But sometime in October, its advisory panel commented that its ruling is faulty and now, FDA is in the process of considering the chemical safety again.

Shannon Jenest from Philips Avent, the leading baby-bottle seller in U.S, said, "We made a business decision to move out of BPA. We felt like we had hit a tipping point with our consumers and with our retailers. Babies R Us was banning it, Target was going to, CVS was going to, and so the distribution channels were lessening and lessening."

However, Philips Avent has stopped sale of its BPA-bottles in North America w.e.f Dec. 31 but continues to sell them overseas.