In Case You Missed The Latest Friday Night FDA News Dump…

(9AM – promoted by RiaD)

It’s a long standing tradition for government agencies to publicly release findings, rulings and studies they’d rather just as soon not discuss any further on Friday nights.  Who follows news on the weekend?  And by Monday morning, the story is already 3 days old – or in other words, ancient history…

Of course, those of us who know these things know that Saturday morning’s news will always contain a few interesting items.

Here’s the latest, courtesy of the FDA –

A controversial chemical commonly found in can linings, baby bottles and other household products does not pose a health hazard when used in food containers, according to a draft assessment released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday.

FDA scientists said the trace amounts of bisphenol A (BPA) that leach out of food containers are not a threat to infants or adults. The agency acknowledged that more research is needed to fully understand the chemical’s effects on humans and noted “there are always uncertainties associated with safety decisions.”

The FDA previously declared the chemical safe but agreed to revisit that opinion after a report by the federal National Toxicology Program said there was “some concern” about its risks to infants.

There go our “watchdogs” in action again, watch them regulate!  Maybe they’re “saving their powder”.  Then again, this is the FDA we’re talking about here…the agency so clueless that they apparently just play “spin the bottle” whenever there’s an outbreak of food poisoning, or just place blame on the first thing that comes to mind.  I’m still waiting for them to blame the next salmonella outbreak on gerbils, because a top agency official may have a 3-year old daughter who fears small rodents.

Crossposted from La Vida Locavore, more below the fold…

The report stands in contrast to more than 100 studies performed by government scientists and university laboratories that have found health concerns associated with BPA. Some have linked the chemical to prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, behavioral disorders such as hyperactivity and reproductive problems in laboratory animals.

How much more blatant can it get that that agency is currently an ineffective industry lapdog?

The chemical industry and the agencies that regulate the use of BPA, the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency, have deemed the chemical safe, largely on the strength of two industry-funded studies that found no problems.

Well, oh…I’m sorry.  Now I see…  

Industry funded studies have ‘found no problems’ with their products.

How could one ever doubt that?!

……………………….

The substance in question here is Bisphenol A –

Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is a difunctional building block of several important polymers and polymer additives. With an annual production of approximately 3 million tonnes, it is an important monomer in the production of polycarbonate.

Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use of Bisphenol A in consumer products grabbed headlines in 2008 when several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers pulled products made from it off their shelves.

Such ‘stalwarts’ of public health and safety such as WalMart and Toys R Us have already announced they plan to stop carrying products containing this chemical early next year; Canada has banned use of the chemical in baby products, many US states (CA, CT, and NJ amongst them) are or have considered legislation banning certain uses of the substance, and US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill along those same lines earlier this year.

But once again, the FDA has decided that their role is to play lackey to the industries they ‘regulate’ – in this case, the Grocery Manufacturers of America and the American Plastics Council.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming – wherein the FDA swings wildly and randomly blames the first thing that pops into mind to cover up for their massive failures and complete incompetency in carrying out their assigned duty to protect Americans from being poisoned by their masters in Industry.

Next week on “The FDA” –

Thinking about locally grown organic vegetables from a local farmer?  Think again!  Everyone who’s ever eaten them has eventually died, or inevitably will one day.  We heart toxic chemicals!