Safe Baby Bottle Act, Your Time Has Come

Some things do change. After months of delay, the FDA now says it’s concerned about the health impacts of BPA and no longer supports the chemical’s use in baby bottles.

We say “Yay for the FDA” for breaking away from chemical industry logic and agreeing with health advocates that BPA is a threat to children’s health. But the agency is far from the finish line—it’s saying the right things, but failed to take any meaningful regulatory action against BPA. That leaves parents and kids with little assurance that the items they buy will be free of the chemical any time soon. 

Why are we still waiting for action? Because federal law won’t allow it. The agency acknowledged in Friday’s statement that because of the failure of its own laws and regulations, it can’t take swift action, and, instead, must rely on manufacturers’ voluntary efforts to stop using the chemical in products.

FDA’s about face and lack of meaningful action proves once again that states like Washington need to get out in front. Opponents of the Safe Baby Bottle Act say we don’t need state action because FDA has the problem covered. Well, not according to FDA. If there is one thing this new announcement tells us, it’s that if we are going to protect Washington’s children from BPA, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. Safe Baby Bottle Act, your time has come.

Read our statement about FDA's opinion here.