CHILD health advocates yesterday called on the government to impose a ban on the use of the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in consumer products.
The industrial chemical BPA is found to disrupt the effects of estrogen in the developing brain. It is widely used in food cans, plastic baby feeding bottles, milk container linings, water pipes, and even dental sealants.
"The heightened global concern over human exposure to BPA and the probable health effects even at very low doses should move the government into imposing a control, if not ban the BPA on tainted children s products," said Velvet Roxas, a mother of two and deputy executive director of Arugaan and a member of the EcoWaste Coalition.
Arugaan or Support System for Women and Children focuses on a number of programs such as breastfeeding, early childhood education and mother support group.
"The toxic health threat from BPA-laced feeding bottles for artificial milk formula should encourage all mothers to feed and nourish their children with breast milk, the most nutritious and ecological food for babies," she added.
Arugaan and EcoWaste said various studies have shown that exposure to BPA has been implicated in disease or developmental problems even "at surprisingly low doses."
Some studies also associated BPA to "feminizing baby boys" and increasing the risk of breast cancer in girls and women.
Studies also showed that fetuses, infants, and children around puberty are mostly at risk since their bodies are still growing and developing.
Last June 2010, legislators in the state of California voted to ban BPA in baby products for children aged three and under.
In March 2009, Denmark banned BPA in food and drink containers for children under three years old as a precautionary step.
Canada in 2008 banned the use of BPA in baby feeding bottles.
Since the ban on BPA is not yet in place, Arugaan and EcoWaste are encouraging consumers to observe the following to prevent or reduce toxic exposure: Nourish the child with breast milk; refrain from feeding the baby canned foods with plastic linings that might contain BPA; avoid polycarbonate plastic containers and use safer alternatives such as glass, ceramics or stainless steel.
The groups also asked the public to refrain from using the microwave in cooking the food; drinking beverage in plastic or plastic cling wraps; reducing consumption of canned foods; and checking product labels that read "BPA-Free."
An international conference to be convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization will be held in Canada this October to develop guidance on BPA for food safety regulators.
The industrial chemical BPA is found to disrupt the effects of estrogen in the developing brain. It is widely used in food cans, plastic baby feeding bottles, milk container linings, water pipes, and even dental sealants.
"The heightened global concern over human exposure to BPA and the probable health effects even at very low doses should move the government into imposing a control, if not ban the BPA on tainted children s products," said Velvet Roxas, a mother of two and deputy executive director of Arugaan and a member of the EcoWaste Coalition.
Arugaan or Support System for Women and Children focuses on a number of programs such as breastfeeding, early childhood education and mother support group.
"The toxic health threat from BPA-laced feeding bottles for artificial milk formula should encourage all mothers to feed and nourish their children with breast milk, the most nutritious and ecological food for babies," she added.
Arugaan and EcoWaste said various studies have shown that exposure to BPA has been implicated in disease or developmental problems even "at surprisingly low doses."
Some studies also associated BPA to "feminizing baby boys" and increasing the risk of breast cancer in girls and women.
Studies also showed that fetuses, infants, and children around puberty are mostly at risk since their bodies are still growing and developing.
Last June 2010, legislators in the state of California voted to ban BPA in baby products for children aged three and under.
In March 2009, Denmark banned BPA in food and drink containers for children under three years old as a precautionary step.
Canada in 2008 banned the use of BPA in baby feeding bottles.
Since the ban on BPA is not yet in place, Arugaan and EcoWaste are encouraging consumers to observe the following to prevent or reduce toxic exposure: Nourish the child with breast milk; refrain from feeding the baby canned foods with plastic linings that might contain BPA; avoid polycarbonate plastic containers and use safer alternatives such as glass, ceramics or stainless steel.
The groups also asked the public to refrain from using the microwave in cooking the food; drinking beverage in plastic or plastic cling wraps; reducing consumption of canned foods; and checking product labels that read "BPA-Free."
An international conference to be convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization will be held in Canada this October to develop guidance on BPA for food safety regulators.
