An article published in the International Chiropractic Pediatrics Review (Spring 2008, p. 12) recently found that lab tests of canned infant formula conducted by the FDA and a certified commercial laboratory revealed that a plastics chemical, bis-phenol-A (BPA), leaches from the metal can linings into infant formula at levels which would expose some bottle-fed infants to BPA in excess of doses that caused serious adverse side effects in tests done on animals.
No government safety standards exist to limit the amount of BPA in infant formula.
Leading infant formula makers: Nestle and Mead-Johnson, may admit that there are risks in any material used for packaging, however, they firmly stand by their products and claim liquid infant formula in these cans is safe.
Yet, two separate groups of BPA experts expressed concerns about infant exposure to BPA. Both panels were sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One panel comprised of 38 BPA experts worldwide expressed grave concern that infant exposure levels are equal to or exceed the levels which caused harm in animal studies. The other panel, the National Toxicology Program’s Center for Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, concluded there was “some risk” that infant exposure to BPA could harm brain development and adversely affect behavior. Unfortunately, there’s lack of scientific consensus on the parameters of “some risk.”
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit advocacy and research group based in Washington, D.C., made notes in its executive summary regarding analyses of levels of BPA in ready-to-eat concentrated infant formual with government data on infant formula consumption indicating the following:
- one out of every 16 infants fed ready-to-eat canned formula would be exposed to BPA at doses exceeding those which altered testosterone levels, affected neurodevelopment, and caused other permanent harm to male and female reproductive systems.
- At the highest BPA levels found in formula, 17 parts per billion (ppb), nearly two-thirds of all infants fed ready to eat formula would be exposed above doses harmful in animal tests.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has not taken a formal stance on this issue. The FDA acknowledges it’s actively reviewing safety data on BPA, but it is not banning or restricting its use in infant formula in the meantime.
The Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1976, is toxic law in the U.S. Thirty-one years later, it’s the only major public health and environmental statute in the U.S. that’s ever been updated.
Breastfeeding, on the other hand, is safe, nutritious, helps with immune system development, and it also promotes numerous other benefits for baby: physiological, neurological, and emotional.