Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns about possible health risks from Bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging.
The concern is about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.
The recent findings are based on studies that have found harmful effects in animals, and on the recognition that the chemical seeps into food and baby formula, and that nearly everyone is exposed to it, starting in the womb.
BPA has been used since the 1960s to make hard plastic bottles, Sippy Cups for toddlers and the linings of food and beverage cans, including the cans used to hold infant formula and soda. Until recently, it was used in baby bottles.
The chemicals can leach into food, and a study of more than 2,000 people found that more than 90 percent of them had BPA in their urine. Traces have also been found in breast milk, the blood of pregnant women and umbilical cord blood.
Over time, the chemical can leach into the contents of a plastic container, particularly one that is used in a microwave oven or cleaned in a dishwasher.
