Source: sfgate.com
Bending to growing public and legal pressure that began in San Francisco, six major companies have agreed to stop selling hard-plastic baby bottles containing bisphenol A, an industrial chemical suspected of harming human development.
The purveyors of baby-care products – Playtex Products Inc., Gerber, Evenflo Co., Avent America Inc., Dr. Brown and Disney First Years – said they no longer will market the shatter-proof polycarbonate bottles and some other baby products in the United States.
Polycarbonate is made of bisphenol A, widely used in hundreds of commercial applications, including the inside lining of metal food and drink containers, epoxy resins and polyvinyl chloride plastics.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in announcing the companies’ decisions on Thursday, said he and the attorney generals from Delaware and New Jersey had written to the companies last year, urging them to stop using the chemical, which mimics the hormonal activity of estrogen and can alter the normal workings of genes.
Health officials cautious about possible ill effects believe that infants and children are at the greatest risk because of their quickly developing bodies and sensitive systems.
Shannon Jenest, a spokeswoman for Avent, which is owned by the Philips Group, said its polycarbonate products have met governmental guidelines, including those set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has not banned bisphenol A.
One Comment
Sounds like a witch hunt to me……