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Conn. Attorney General wants details on bisphenol A marketing campaign

Posted by bdaley June 16, 2009 02:15 PM

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

If there is a more scrutinized, despised chemical than bisphenol A in the country right now, I haven’t heard of it.

And now, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating whether industry officials are using “fear tactics, political manipulation and misleading marketing” to fight regulation of the chemical used in hundreds of everyday products, from baby bottles to canned food.

The chemical, if you haven’t heard yet, can leach out of bottles and be ingested by people. It has come under growing criticism because of numerous animal studies in recent years that suggest low levels of BPA could cause developmental problems in fetuses and young children, among other ill effects.


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Mothers at a March statehouse rally to urge Massachusetts officials to warn the public about BPA (Bill Greene/Globe photo)

Blumenthal is focusing in on an industry private meeting that was held in late May. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obtained a summary memo of the discussion, http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/46510647.html which included possible strategies to better market BPA, including getting a pregnant woman to serve as a spokeswoman – the “holy grail” according to the memo. Attendees also said they doubted they could find a scientist to serve as a spokesman.

Blumenthal wrote a letter yesterday to companies and associations that attended the meeting, including, Coca-Cola Company, Crown Packaging Inc., Alcoa, Del Monte Foods and the American Chemistry Council asking them for details about it.

“Colluding in a campaign of confusion and concealment – potentially endangering children and pregnant women – is appalling and possibly illegal,” Blumenthal said in a press statement. He said he was “particularly disturbed” by reports of the meeting that industry officials were targeting Connecticut and other states that have strict BPA laws. For the press release go here.

Connecticut has been a leader against BPA, helping to get six major baby bottle companies, including Gerber and Playtex, to stop using the chemical in US bottles.

Meanwhile, here in Massachusetts, residents – many worried about exposure to BPA – are still waiting for the state Department of Public Health decision whether to warn pregnant women and young children to avoid food, drinks and other items containing the chemical.

Trying to avoid BPA in plastics? Avoid clear, hard plastic bottles marked with a 7 or “PC.” While not all contain BPA, it is a good guide.

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4 comments so far...
  1. Thank goodness Massachusetts isn't leading the fight against BPA - the only people who would benefit would be the citizens. And that's just not right is it, Massachusetts politicians?

    Posted by CJ June 17, 09 01:17 PM
  1. ooohhhh poor company. They might have to spend more to make their filthy product. Tears pour.

    Of course, they will pass the costs off to us, but, if that means a safe product, then thats what happens. But for these creeps thinking they can sell poison is absurd. What is wrong with corporate america? Are they really THAT evil? And dont come in here firin your mouths off about how they create jobs and sell useful products. That has no bearing on the fact that they are selling poison in sheeps clothing.

    Posted by elpaulo June 17, 09 02:56 PM
  1. Connecticut political leaders have really come to understand how important we all feel about the products on our shelves being safe and the government watching the chicken coop instead of the wolves we have now. but no ones seems to care in MA

    Posted by Lee Ketelsen June 17, 09 03:21 PM
  1. Nice to see Bisphenol A getting some press coverage. A lot of people don't know or think about it. The obsession with bottled water especially, which has headed toward the absurd, seems to have put tap water on the back burner. The bottom line: the United States has some of the best water out there but people still continue paying out the mouth for something with harmful agents and environmental waste potential.

    www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org

    Posted by Jeremy July 1, 09 02:01 PM
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