Safety fears over plastic in bottles

INTERNATIONAL controversy is growing about the safety of a plastic widely used to make baby bottles, sealants on food and drink cans and reusable food and drink containers.

BPA, or bisphenol A, is an oestrogen-like compound used in plastics, which is being linked to a string of reproductive disorders. BPA can seep from a container into a liquid.

Up to 38 leading US scientists have reviewed up to 700 different pieces of research on the safety of BPA. They concluded that consumers are being exposed to levels of BPA greater than those that harm laboratory animals.

They said infants and foetuses are most at risk.

A Food Safety spokeswoman said yesterday that the European Food Safety Agency had undertaken an evaluation of the BPA risk and published its results in January.

“EFTA looked at all exposures and concluded it was safe to use as exposure falls way below unsafe levels,” she said.

This week, a US National Institutes of Health expert panel will convene to decide whether to declare BPA a human reproductive toxin.