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Healthy Food Action
Making health the future of food and farming
Tell the FDA to act now on toxic BPA
You’ve likely heard about bisphenol A (BPA). It’s a notorious synthetic estrogen that’s found in all types of products: from food cans, to receipt paper, to dental amalgams, to the lining of some infant formula packages. We’re concerned about its presence in these products because exposure to this chemical, even in low doses, is linked with many of the chronic health problems we see on the rise today, including: breast and prostate cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
As a health professional you have a unique opportunity to weigh in on the problem of BPA in food packaging—the largest source of our exposure to BPA. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering a petition to ban the use of BPA in infant formula packaging. Right now, the public has the opportunity to comment; your voice as a health professional can make a difference in this debate.
You can tell the FDA that they should protect developing babies and children by banning BPA in infant formula packaging. Although banning BPA from infant formula is an important step in the right direction to protect healthy child development it does not go far enough. Babies are also getting exposed to BPA through baby food in glass jars and cans, and through breast milk.
That’s why your action is also needed to urge the FDA to immediately release its long awaited safety reassessment of BPA, rule BPA unsafe and ban this hormonally active chemical from all food packaging.
Not a health professional? Take action on our concerned citizen page.
Read and sign on to the petition below.
Dear Commissioner Hamburg,
We, the undersigned, are writing you today in support of Representative Edward Markey’s petition to prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in infant formula packaging. As health professionals, we are very concerned about the use of this chemical in food packaging and the science linking it to the growing epidemic of chronic health conditions in the United States.
BPA is one of the most pervasive chemicals in modern life. More than 200 scientific studies show that BPA exposure is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects, including breast and prostate cancer, birth defects, infertility in men, early puberty in girls, diabetes and obesity. Even minuscule amounts—parts per billion or parts per trillion—have been shown to cross the placenta and disrupt normal prenatal development.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests shows 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies and according to NIH a primary route of exposure is through the leaching of BPA from food and beverage containers. Once in food, BPA can move quickly into people—a particular concern for babies, young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
FDA approval of this petition will protect babies from exposure to this hormonally active chemical that threatens their healthy childhood development.
In addition to approving Rep. Markey’s petition, we also urge the FDA to issue its long awaited safety reassessment of BPA and prohibit the use of BPA in all food packaging. Banning BPA in infant formula is a good start, but it's not enough. Infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and the population at large are still being exposed to BPA through baby food, canned foods and reusable food containers.
We urge the FDA to approve Representative Markey’s petition to prohibit the use of BPA in infant formula packaging and swiftly release the agency’s safety reassessment of this unsafe chemical and ban it from all food packaging.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent public health issue.
Sincerely,
CC: President Barack Obama
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg
We, the undersigned, are writing you today in support of Representative Edward Markey’s petition to prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in infant formula packaging. As health professionals, we are very concerned about the use of this chemical in food packaging and the science linking it to the growing epidemic of chronic health conditions in the United States.
BPA is one of the most pervasive chemicals in modern life. More than 200 scientific studies show that BPA exposure is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects, including breast and prostate cancer, birth defects, infertility in men, early puberty in girls, diabetes and obesity. Even minuscule amounts—parts per billion or parts per trillion—have been shown to cross the placenta and disrupt normal prenatal development.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests shows 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies and according to NIH a primary route of exposure is through the leaching of BPA from food and beverage containers. Once in food, BPA can move quickly into people—a particular concern for babies, young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
FDA approval of this petition will protect babies from exposure to this hormonally active chemical that threatens their healthy childhood development.
In addition to approving Rep. Markey’s petition, we also urge the FDA to issue its long awaited safety reassessment of BPA and prohibit the use of BPA in all food packaging. Banning BPA in infant formula is a good start, but it's not enough. Infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and the population at large are still being exposed to BPA through baby food, canned foods and reusable food containers.
We urge the FDA to approve Representative Markey’s petition to prohibit the use of BPA in infant formula packaging and swiftly release the agency’s safety reassessment of this unsafe chemical and ban it from all food packaging.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent public health issue.
Sincerely,
CC: President Barack Obama
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg
