Proposed Legislation Would Require Food Manufacturers to Include BPA Label

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If your food packaging contains the chemical BPA, the label will have to say so if a newly proposed bill is passed. 

This week Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a , S. 1124, that would require any food packaging that contains the endocrine disrupter bisphenol A, or BPA, to note its presence on the label.

People have a 鈥渞ight to make informed decisions about the everyday products they purchase,鈥 Feinstein said in a press release. The bill would require the following unappetizing label: 鈥淭his food packaging contains BPA, an endocrine-disrupting chemical.鈥

BPA, which has been the subject of public and scientific scrutiny for several years, is known to disrupt the endocrine systems of both and , including fish and amphibians. The chemical has been used since the 1960s to make plastic for various food containers such as baby bottles and can linings. But it first gained widespread attention in 2008 for its . Since then, it has been from baby bottles, and Nalgene has started making its popular water bottles without the chemical, as have many other manufacturers. Nevertheless, BPA still remains in many of the food packagings it was first used for; most canned foods still use it as a liner to prevent corrosion of the metal.

Unsurprisingly, the trade group American Chemistry Council opposes the bill. 鈥淭his legislation is unnecessary, as the consensus of major government agencies around the world鈥 supports the safety of BPA in food contact materials,鈥 the group said in a statement. A study published just this week, however, linked higher BPA levels to . And there is extensive research linking BPA to a variety of negative health effects, including increased risk of , , and . 

The bill, which is co-sponsored by Senators Blumenthal (D-CT) and King (I-ME), wouldn鈥檛 restrict the use of BPA; it would simply require that anything containing BPA say so on its label, thus allowing consumers to make their own choices. However, with increased consumer awareness of the ubiquity of BPA, there might be more pressure on food companies to use safer alternatives. And less BPA exposure is good news for humans and wildlife alike.

Yet even as the health concerns of BPA have come to light, there鈥檚 concern that the chemicals that replace it could pose . That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 vital that manufacturers be forced to show that their products are safe. New legislation introduced in May, the , would update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. But some environmentalists say it doesn鈥檛 go far enough in addressing chemical safety concerns. It tasks the EPA, not industry, with proving whether or not a given chemical is toxic, for instance, and it could weaken strong state and local toxin regulations. 

While the BPA labeling bill is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, we still need stronger, robust legislation that makes the chemical industry and EPA share the task of determining which chemicals are safe.

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