Conn. Attorney General wants details on bisphenol A marketing campaign

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.

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.