FDA Removes Five Food Contact Substances and Bans BPA from Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups

By Scott Stephens of 3ecompany: The FDA was very active in July, announcing on July 2, 2012 that BASF, DuPont, and Clariant Corporation have agreed to stop producing or selling five perfluorinated grease-proofing agents as food contact substances.  The five chemicals, known as C8 compounds because they contain a perfluorinated chain of eight carbon atoms or longer, are CAS RNs 392286-82-7, 220459-70-1, 247047-61-6, 870465-08-0, and 479029-28-2. According to the FDA, C8 compounds have raised environmental and human and animal health concerns in scientific studies.  Used in coatings on food containers like fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, and pet food bags, perfluorinated grease-proofing agents prevent oil and grease of food from leaking through packaging.  For more information, please click here.

On July 17, 2012 the FDA amended the food additive regulations (21 CFR 177.1580) to ban the use of polycarbonate (PC) resins – commonly derived from bisphenol A (BPA) – in infant feeding bottles and spill-proof cups, or sippy cups, including their closures and lids.  The final rule stems from a petition filed by the American Chemistry Council, which asked the FDA to amend the regulation for PC resins to no longer allow the use of bisphenol A for production of baby bottles and sippy cups because such uses of the chemical have been abandoned.  The rule is effective from July 17, 2012. For more on the rule, please click here.