Canada Bans Baby Bottles With BPA

After a successful lobbying from the environmental advocacy group, for the regulation of Bisphenol A, the federal government of Canada announced on Friday its intentions on putting a ban on both, the import as well as the sale of polycarbonate baby bottles which contain Bisphenol A.

Bisphenol, which is commonly known as BPA, is a synthetic chemical that is the main component in polycarbonate, which ultimately forms the unbreakable, plastic used in the food cans, water bottles, drink containers, compact discs, electronics and also baby bottles.

The ban, which would come into force after a 60-day public comment period, has made Canada, the first country today to limit exposure to this controversial chemical.

The debate over the use of BPA has been going on since November 2007, despite the plastic industry’s non acceptance of the chemical they are using for over five decades now as being harmful.

The process began this week beginning with Health Canada declaring the chemical ‘dangerous’. What began with major retailers like- Hudson Bay, Canadian Tire Corporation, Forzani Group, Lululemon Athletica and Mountain Equipment Co-op deciding to pull off the BPA containing stuff from their shelves finally, snowballed into the ban on the import and export of these infant bottles. Many bottle making companies like, Nalgene Outdoor Products, have also decided against manufacturing these bottles now.

Although it has been found out that the baby bottles do not contain as much BPA as can be injurious to the infants, but the government is not ready to take chances as early development is sensitive to this dangerous chemical.

The ban would affect only baby bottles and not other food containers made with Bisphenol A (BPA). However, it has been found out that the content of BPA is much higher in food cans and these when heated allow the chemical to seep into the food and ultimately our bodies, which is quite alarming a fact to be taken lightly.

Certain studies on the issue have revealed even in low doses, the chemical can increase breast and ovarian cancer-cell growth and the growth of some prostate cancer cells in animals.

Companies would now work towards phasing out this chemical from their products over the months to come. It could on the grimmer side lead to major job cuts and shutdowns in the industry, but, the effort would be worth the trouble.