NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Committee Urges FDA to Reconsider
Safety of Bisphenol A

New Data Brief Raises Additional Concerns

Washington, D.C. – With the release of new research from the National Toxicology Program (NTP), leaders of the Committee on Energy and Commerce called today on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promptly reconsider the safety of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in products intended for use by infants and children.

Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), the Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, have been investigating the use of BPA in the lining of infant formula cans. Today they are calling on the FDA to reconsider the agency's determination that BPA is safe, given two recent reports indicating BPA's potential for harm.

The National Toxicology Program, an interagency government program housed within the National Institutes of Health, has concluded in a Draft Brief that "there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures...the possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed."

In addition, according to press reports, the Canadian government will announce tomorrow that BPA is "toxic."

"These findings of BPA's dangers are based on the totality of research around this chemical," Dingell said. "These assessments fly in the face of the FDA's determination that BPA is safe. I hope the FDA is willing to reconsider their position on BPA for the safety of our infants and children."

"We would expect FDA to make decisions based on the best available science, especially when the health of infants and children are at stake,” said Stupak. “Yet the FDA relied on only two industry-funded studies, while other respected authorities used all available data to reach vastly different conclusions. It is my hope that the FDA will re-visit their decision and provide a truly independent analysis of the safety of Bisphenol A."

Additional information regarding the Committee’s Bisphenol A investigation

Read the NTP Brief

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