States Ask Baby Product Companies to Avoid BPA

HARTFORD — Attorneys general from Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware sent letters Friday to 11 companies that make baby bottles and baby formula containers, asking they no longer use the chemical bisphenol A in their manufacturing because they said it was potentially harmful to infants.

But Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was most critical of the FDA for declining to take action after a preliminary study last month drew a possible connection to BPA and risks of heart disease and diabetes.

"Unfortunately the federal agency, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, has been asleep at the switch, in fact resistant to respecting the scientific evidence that grave harm can result in use of this product," Blumenthal said.

Michael Herndon, an FDA spokesman, said Monday the agency is continuing to evaluate its risk assessment.

Scientists are at odds about the risks of BPA. A preliminary study released last month by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that adults exposed to higher amounts of the chemical were more likely to report having heart disease and diabetes.

The study doesn't provide proof, although its authors said the results deserve scientific follow-up.

Source: The Associated Press