Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA is a building block of several important plastics and plastic additives.
In August 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a ruling saying BPA was safe for all uses. The ruling sparked a public firestorm, as critics called the research flawed.
On January 9th, 2010 the FDA officials said there is “some concern” about the health risks to children and babies from the plastics additive known as BPA. They won’t, however, restrict use of the substance pending further study.
Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, BPAs have undergone much scientific scrutiny recently. Concerns about the use of BPA in consumer products have been growing amongst the public and some retailers have removed products made of it from their shelves.
Some states have banned BPA in the manufacture of baby products. (BPA had previously been found in baby bottles and toys.) Manufacturers seem to be getting the message. Most major baby bottle manufacturers, including Avent, Gerber and Playtex stopped using the substance in bottles they sell in the U.S. in early 2009.
Cheaper bottles, canning jar lids and many canned foods still contain what environmental health advocates contend is a significant quantity of BPA.
Where BPA is used and how it gets in you
Environmental health researchers believe, to the contrary, that BPAs are a big problem. They assert that BPA is an endocrine disruptor that the body can mistake for its own hormones, resulting in a host of nasty side effects. The danger appears particularly great for babies, fetuses, and young children, an age group that has the highest sensitivity to endocrine disruptors and other hormone-like chemicals.
FDA Backtracks on Potential Danger of BPA (ABC News)
A pretty nice review of the history of the BPA controversy
