ACSH staffers breathed a temporary sigh of relief as a provision to ban BPA was omitted from the Food Safety Modernization Act by the Senate health panel on Thursday. The provision was originally introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who still plans to introduce an amendment to ban BPA from children s products as soon as the bill arrives on the Senate floor.
Upon hearing the good news, ACSH's Jeff Stier rejoiced. Food safety legislation can finally move forward with bipartisan support, and Sen. Feinstein s logjam has been removed at long last.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross agrees. After stubbornly resisting a groundswell of opinion to limit her obsession with banning BPA for no valid science-based reason, Sen. Feinstein has finally caved on that issue and is at least temporarily allowing the Food Safety Modernization Act to proceed.
ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan notes that it s an amazing phenomenon that the BPA scare has gone as far as it has, given the overwhelming global consensus among scientists that it poses no health threat to human beings of any age.