I totally forgot to post this earlier this week. At first glance, this press release from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association might seem like one more mindlessly self-serving, knee-jerk response to a damning front page article in the Washington Post about the chemical companies manipulating the scientific debate over Bisphenol-A.
But read more closely, and you'll see that they see the writing on the wall. The full text of the announcement, annotated and with all the ass-covering equivocations highlighted, is after the jump.
If the BPA ban proceeds according to schedule, the JPMA will proudly announce its unwavering support of new product safety legislation the day after it's signed.
JPMA Supports Safety of Baby Bottles /Polycarbonate Baby Bottles Accepted as Safe for Use Worldwide/ The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), which represents the leading manufacturers of baby bottles in the United States, stands by the scientific research indicating that plastic baby bottles are safe.[via a displeased JPMA member]
Sound and respected scientific research has consistently shown there is no danger to consumers when products are used as intended. Trace levels of bisphenol A (BPA) from consumer products are well below any level that could cause harm to adults or to our children. Other scientific studies have shown that BPA has NO effect on the reproductive system, NO effect on the developmental system, and NO cancer-causing effects. Recent reports indicating otherwise are both sensational and biased, and they have not received any validation from the scientific community.[Actually, recent reports indicated that the BPA experts in the scientific community who are not funded by the chemical industry found otherwise, and expressed much more concern than the lobbyist scientists hired to write the NIH's report.]
Found in a wide variety of products, lightweight and shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastic has been the material of choice in baby bottles for more than 25 years. The potential for exposure to bisphenol A from bottles has been extensively examined and the results have been reviewed worldwide by agencies having responsibility for assessing the safety of consumer products. The scientists who conducted these safety studies on BPA come from across the globe, and include scientists from the U.S. National Academy of Science, the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food, the European Food Safety Authority, and the Japanese National Institute of Health Sciences.
The FDA has just announced the formation of an agency-wide task force to review the safety of BPA. The FDA task force will evaluate the recent risk assessment report by Health Canada as well the recent draft report by the National Toxicology Program. FDA continues to recommend that consumers refrain from discontinuing use of BPA-containing products.
JPMA relies upon the FDA to set standards for the safety of food storage materials including the safety and suitability of polycarbonate for baby bottles as temporary storage for liquid nourishment. As long as scientifically valid health and risk assessments demonstrate the safe use of such products, consumers should continue to have a choice to use them.
JPMA members make a wide range of baby bottles with a variety of alternative materials that are also available. Ultimately, consumers have and should continue to have a wide range of choices of products on the marketplace. Please be assured that JPMA members comply with all safety standards in effect and will continue to do so.
There is significant data available on the safety of BPA. From baby bottles and food packaging, to bicycle helmets and eyeglass lenses, as well as incubators and components of many life-saving medical devices, polycarbonate plastic makes everyday lives better and safer.
For more information on BPA in juvenile products, visit:
www.babybottle.org
www.CoalitionForConsumerChoice.org
www.bisphenol-A.org
www.stats.org
www.acsh.org
Previously: Washington Post blowing that whole BPA caper wide open
Related: Several key players in the BPA debate were on the Diane Rehm show Tuesday. [audio at wamu.org]
Hmm, I notice they skirted the issue of the massive bottle recall in Canada, where every store has pulled Polycarbonate bottles. They are also offering full refunds on any bottles we bring in.