Reduce Toxic Chemical Pollution News

New report finds food packers slow to phase out toxic bisphenol-A

Chicago City Council vote expected early next week

CHICAGO – Fourteen of the largest public packaged food and beverage companies still use the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic sex hormone, in their packaging despite studies linking the chemical to developmental problems, heart disease and diabetes, according to a new report, Seeking Safer Packaging, released today in Illinois by Environment Illinois.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic sex hormone that mimics estrogen, but which is also used to make the epoxy lining of most food cans and hard clear plastic containers, including baby bottles and most toddler’s sippy cups. BPA is known to leach from those products into the food and beverages they contain.

For today’s report, investors asked 20 publicly-traded companies what actions they are taking to respond to concerns regarding BPA. Of the fourteen companies that responded, investors found that all but four had failed to develop safer alternatives, and only one company had begun using a substitute.

“We’re very concerned with the lack of urgency with which food container manufactures are approaching BPA,” said Brian Imus, State Director at Illinois Public Interest Research Group.  It’s alarming that this chemical is still common in food containers despite evidence of harm. BPA is a known toxic—it should be prohibited from touching anyone’s food.”  

In Chicago, Aldermen Ed Burke and Manny Flores have introduced a city ordinance to prohibit the sale of BPA-containing baby bottles and toddler’s sippy cups. A joint committee of Chicago’s City Council will hear their ordinance on Monday.

“The body of evidence that documents harmful effects of BPA at low doses—doses very similar to what is found in humans—is very compelling when examined as a whole,” said Dr. Gail Prins, a physiology professor and BPA researcher who has studied Bisphenol A's effects on the prostate, including its links to prostate cancer. “To ignore this scientific data any longer will be seen as negligence.”

While Canada has banned BPA from baby bottles, no American jurisdiction, except for a single county in New York, has yet adopted a similar ban.

Aldermen Burke and Flores are among a growing number of policy makers across the country who--frustrated by the slow response from manufacturers and the U.S. FDA--are advancing state and local laws to eliminate this chemical from some containers. The Chicago ordinance mirrors a bill pending in the Illinois Legislature sponsored by Illinois State Representative Elaine Nekritz and State Senator Dan Kotowski.

“I am hopeful that by passing this legislation in Chicago, we can begin a nationwide movement that will inspire other municipal and state jurisdictions to eliminate BPA from food containers in their communities,” said Alderman Flores.

“The goal is to force companies to make BPA-free products and we believe that this ordinance represents an important first step,” said Alderman Burke. “Passage of this legislation would also increase public scrutiny concerning a problem that the industry has so far been extremely slow to address.”  

In April 2008, Canada’s national health agency classified bisphenol A as toxic to humans and the environment. That same week, the United States National Toxicology Program reported “some concern” that bisphenol A disrupts human development due to evidence of harm in laboratory animals at low levels found in nearly all human bodies.

“This report highlights the need for legislative action to remove this chemical from all food containers as soon as possible,” said Max Muller of Environment Illinois. “We applaud Aldermen Manny Flores and Edward Burke for introducing this ordinance and encourage the City Council to pass it.”

In February 2008, Environment Illinois, working public health and environmental groups in nine states, released the report Baby’s Toxic Bottle, which found that baby bottles leached significant amounts of BPA when subjected to tests designed to simulate repeated washings. Attorneys General in Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey joined the groups in calling for baby bottle manufacturers to go BPA-free, and in March 2009, six baby bottle manufacturers announced a phase-out of BPA from the bottles they sell in the United States.

The report, Seeking Safer Substitutes, was prepared by the environmentally responsible investment advisory firms Green Century Capital Management, and As You So. The full report is available online at www.EnvironmentIllinois.org.

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