Infant girls and BPA exposure, Campbell's brands pose risk

Examiner.com: Over the past few years scientists have linked an estrogen-like chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in canned foods to possible health risks. The solution could cost the food insustry only a few cents per product to resolve, but still few respond, which leaves parents concerned.

A September 2011 study conducted by the Breast Cancer Fund showed that Campbell's Disney Princess and Toy Story Soups contained the highest levels of BPA among 12 food items tested.

Another study shows that the timing of exposure may post the biggest risk for girls. In a study released this week in Pediatrics young girls exposed to BPA in the womb showed a greater risk for depression and anxiety by age 3. The study is significant because it links the timing of exposure to behavioral problems.

Your Canned Foods Will Make Your Daughters Hyperactive

Jezebel: Today in News of Our Horrible Modern World: moms' exposure to the chemical bisphenol-A (found in cans and plastic bottles) during pregnancy appears to increase their daughters' anxiety and hyperactivity at age 3.

The AP reports on a study that tested the urine of 244 pregnant women for BPA. Researchers then had moms score their kids' behavior at age 3 using standard questionnaires. Higher BPA levels were correlated with more anxiety and hyperactivity in girls — for every 10% increase in BPA, the girls scored six points worse on the questionnaire. This wasn't enough to push many of them over into abnormal territory, but lead study author Joe Braun says "these subtle shifts can actually have very dramatic implications at the population level."

Multnomah County Passes BPA Ban

The Lund Report: Parents and children packed the board room this morning to hear the Multnomah County Commissioners vote unanimously to ban the sale and manufacture of reusable water bottles, sippy cups and baby bottles that contain the organic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA).

Multnomah County's ban follows numerous attempts at the state level to pass a ban on BPA, and this morning's vote is the first successful attempt in Oregon.

Earlier this year, legislators failed to pass a similar ban. "It was a huge disappointment," said Sen. Jackie Dingfelder (D-NE Portland), who sponsored that bill and testifed at this morning's hearing.

In 2010, a bill that would have banned BPA from even more products failed as well.

"This would have best had it been a state-wide action," said county chair Jeff Cogen. "But when the state fails to lead, the local leaders have to step up and act."

Government bans 'unsafe' baby bottles

Mail & Guardian Online: Last week, Motsoaledi signed a document containing regulations declaring the illegality of the "manufacture, importation, exportation and sale" of infant bottles containing BPA. The relevant regulations were published in the October 21 Government Gazette and took immediate effect. The step against BPA is a first for an African country.

French BPA ban will distort EU food packaging market

Plastics Europe: The new French ban on bisphenol A (BPA) could potentially distort the European internal market for food packaging, according to plastics industry trade association Plastics Europe.

Yesterday’s decision by the French National Assembly to approve the proposed bill prohibiting the use of BPA has been met with disappointment by Plastics Europe’s PC/BPA division, which believes it has the potential to cause “inconsistency” in consumer safety decisions.

The French National Assembly decided, with 348 votes for and 2 against, to ban BPA in all food contact packaging from 2014.

A BPA ban on packaging aimed at children under the age of three was also approved, as well as the introduction of warning labels on any packaging containing BPA for pregnant women or children under the age of three.

France set to ban BPA in all food contact materials

Chemical Watch: The French government has given its backing to a proposal to ban bisphenol A (BPA) in all food contact materials from 2014, while containers aimed at children under three should be BPA-free by the beginning of 2013, according to French health minister Xavier Bertrand. The centre-right government gave its support on Thursday to a law drafted by Socialist MP Gerard Bapt just over a week after the French National Agency for Food Safety,...

French agency issues warning on BPA health effects

Chemical Watch : The French National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Labour (Anses) has issued a strong warning regarding the exposure of sensitive populations to low doses of bisphenol A (BPA). The warning came as the agency published a report on BPA as part of its programme targeting three groups of substances based on their endocrine disrupting properties (CW 10 May 2011). The report covers two aspects: it identifies the various uses of BPA; and...