Acronym soup, I know, and the FDA hasn't listened to anyone yet on this issue. But the Natural Resources Defense Council is a powerhouse agitator both in lobbying and in the courts, so their push on this - which they formally initiated today - is probably just the first step. From an NRDC blog for parents, Simple Steps:

The lack of BPA safeguards is representative of the broken chemical regulation policy in the United States. Without a system for testing classes of chemicals, such as hormone disrupters, toxics are put on the market as consumer goods before they are fully tested for reproductive effects. BPA has been approved for use in food containers since the 1950s -- despite the dangers revealed in animal studies and the fact that a similar estrogen chemical was removed from the market because it caused cancer and infertility. The federal government has consistently failed to implement any protective regulatory framework for hormone-disrupting chemicals, despite recommendations from the scientific community since the early 1990s.

The FDA must prohibit BPA from use in human food and food packaging, including in can linings and in beverage containers like baby bottles. And the FDA should revoke all regulations permitting the use of any food additive that results in BPA becoming a component of food. Protecting children from BPA exposure shouldn't be parents' responsibility, the FDA should act to protect all Americans. [Link]

You can read the formal petition here (PDF).

Teaser photo by NIOSH, shared via Flickr.