Concerns Remain About Bisphenol a Safety, Despite FDA Declaration

Newswise — WASHINGTON—A growing body of research indicates bisphenol A (BPA) levels in food containers present a public health risk. Despite this evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to assert that BPA is safe for use in food packaging, based on an initial report conducted as part of the Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity (CLARITY-BPA).

Endocrine-disrupting chemical experts will discuss the threat BPA poses and the scientific evidence for health effects during the Endocrine Society’s virtual news conference on Oct. 23. Society spokespeople Laura N. Vandenberg, Ph.D., and CLARITY-BPA investigator Heather Patisaul, Ph.D., will explore the latest data from the study’s Core Report and published results from academic partners during this conversation with reporters.

As of 2014, nearly 100 epidemiological studies had been published tying BPA to health problems including reproductive, behavioral and metabolic disorders, according to the Society and IPEN’s Introduction to EDCs. BPA disrupts the body’s endocrine system by mimicking the hormone estrogen, and chemical substitutes such as bisphenol S have a similar effect.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 96 percent of Americans have BPA in their bodies. The chemical is found in a variety of food containers, including polycarbonate plastic water bottles and can linings.

While the CLARITY-BPA project was designed to help regulators and scientists achieve consensus about BPA’s health effects, the FDA prematurely issued its statement based on an incomplete data set that has not incorporated the results from its academic collaborators. The preliminary findings emerging from the study show there remain significant concerns about the health effects of BPA exposure.

When: Oct. 23, 2018 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. (ET)

Register to attend the virtual news conference by emailing [email protected]. Registered reporters will receive log-in details for the virtual news conference.

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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.