FDA Bans BPA Use in Baby Bottles, Sippy Cups

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the use of the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from use in baby bottles and sippy cups. Industry experts say that manufacturers have already stopped using the chemical in these items, and the FDA's decision is a response to a request by the American Chemistry Council that allowed BPA use in those items be phased out, in part to boost consumer confidence. 

A New York Times article about the decision explains that BPA can leach into food, and cites a study of more than 2,000 people that found more than 90 percent had BPA in their urine. Traces have also been found in breast milk, the blood of pregnant women, and umbilical-cord blood. In 2010, the FDA said that it had concerns about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children, but declined to ban use of the chemical.

Read more about the effects of BPA on neurobehavioral measures in infants in Psychiatric News, here. 

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