Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

On October 17, the federal government announced a ban on the importation, sale and advertisement of baby bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA). A huge step forward, as Canada becomes the first national jurisdiction to take regulatory action against BPA. The announcement was posted online in the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada.

This announcement commits the federal government to working with industry to limit BPA in the linings of infant formula tins, but does not propose to eliminate or reduce BPA in other canned goods, dental sealants, or the many other consumer products that contain this toxic chemical.

The next step is getting BPA out of food cans. So far, the government has not made any move towards this goal, likely because of the great deal of pressure they face from the plastic and chemical industries.

BPA has been found to leach out of products such as baby bottles and the lining of some food cans. Most recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association linked, for the first time, ‘normal’ levels of BPA in a large human population in the U.S. with higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. International organizations, expert panels and more than 150 peer-reviewed studies have associated bisphenol A with a variety of health problems (obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer and a wide range of developmental problems ), often at surprisingly low levels of exposure.

Health Canada’s own assessment of bisphenol A noted that this chemical can accumulate in the womb, exposing the fetus to higher concentrations than at other stages in the child’s life. Bisphenol A has been detected in breast milk at levels nearly as high as those found in infant formula. T here is significant evidence that bisphenol A is acutely toxic to aquatic organisms, and the chemical has been found in surface waters, sediment, groundwater and elsewhere in the environment.

Obviously there is still a risk to humans, adults and infants. While banning BPA in baby bottles is a good thing, we need more action on this chemical!

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Find out more on the federal announcement here.

Cheers,

Cassandra