BPA Ban In Maine

As of January 1, 2012, Maine will ban reusable food and beverage containers like sippy cups, baby bottles, reusable water bottles, and plastic food storage that contain intentionally-added Bisphenol A (BPA). Maine would be the ninth state with a prohibition on the sales of products with intentionally-added BPA along with Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Manufacturers and distributors of such products must submit compliance plans identifying their products subject to prohibition, specifying whether compliance would be achieved by discontinuing sale or by the substitution of a safer alternative, and confirming that all personnel who offer the product for sale or distribution in Maine have been notified of the prohibition.

BPA is used primarily to make plastics, such as polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins -- and epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans. BPA protects food from direct contact with a can and will leach from the plastic lining.

From a health standpoint, BPA is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones, especially estrogen, and may lead to negative health effects. Early development appears to be the period of greatest sensitivity to its effects, and some studies have linked prenatal exposure to later neurological difficulties. Studies showed exposure to BPA lead to higher rates of breast cancer, prostate cancer rates, heart disease, diabetes, attention deficit disorder, and erectile dysfunction.

In a study conducted by the University of Texas School of Public Health in 2010, BPA was found in 63 of 105 samples of fresh and canned foods, foods sold in plastic packaging, and in cat and dog foods in cans and plastic packaging. This included fresh turkey, canned green beans, and canned infant formula. The chemical is also in certain types of thermal and copy paper.

Penn State College of Medicine released a study in May 2011 that found exposure to BPA during pregnancy — particularly the first trimester — may put babies at a greater risk of developing asthma.

Maine compliance plans were originally due on July 5, 2011, but extended to October 3, but the department has yet to receive any, though staff does not definitively know of any company that will be non-compliant. The state runs an electronic reporting system developed by the department that will make it easier for manufacturers to send in their plans and for the department to receive, review, and retain the data.

Canada and other countries have already banned BPA in baby bottles. Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and others phased the chemical out of baby bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers. H.J. Heinz, ConAgra, and Hain Celestial offer BPA-free lining for some of their products.

In February 2011, Maine's newly elected governor, Paul LaPage, said on a local TV news show that he hoped to repeal the ban because, 'There hasn't been any science that identifies that there is a problem.' Evidently, the governor didn't plug the term 'BPA' into an internet search engine.

LaPage continued, 'The only thing that I've heard is if you take a plastic bottle and put it in the microwave and you heat it up, it gives off a chemical similar to estrogen. So the worst case is some women may have little beards.' LaPage ran for cover from the outrage and did not veto or sign the bill, allowing it to become law by default.

In April 2011, General Mills announced it found a BPA-free alternative can liner that apparently works even with tomatoes, a highly acidic product that has long baffled the industry in terms of finding a suitable substitute. General Mills noted with the next tomato harvest, it would use the BPA-free alternative in tomato products sold by its organic foods subsidiary Muir Glen. Thus far, there has been no word on whether General Mills will use BPA-free alternatives on any of its other canned products.

In May, Kroger announced that it was ceasing the selling of baby products with BPA, removing the chemical from its store brand canned foods, and purchasing BPA-free paper for its store register receipts.

Groceries, convenience marts, dollar, and other stores are in the process of complying with Maine's law. At least the ban is limited in scope and does not extend to regular drinks. Imagine what a total ban would do. No Coke or Pepsi or bottled water in stores -- maybe just a lot of bootlegged cases of energy drinks. Well, at least until a switch to BPA-free packaging was done.

In a 2009 study, the Canadian government agency Health Canada found BPA in 85% of 72 soft drinks sold in Canadian stores. All Coca-Cola products tested positive for BPA, among them Coca-Cola, 0.18 ug/L (micrograms per liter); Diet Coke, 0.35 ug/L; grapefruit-flavored Fresca, 1.1 ug/L; cherry-citrus Fresca, 0.75 ug/L; Tab, 0.18 ug/L; Sprite, 0.17 ug/L, and Full Throttle energy drink, 0.60 ug/L. Canada's safe level is 25.0 ug/L and the US EPA safe level is 50.0 ug/L -- so these drinks have only a tiny fraction of BPA.

As Coca-Cola points out on its 'Live Positively' website, 'Health Canada's research states that a 60kg individual would have to consume more than 7400 355ml cans a day on a daily basis for the rest of his or her life in order to exceed the Health Canada's acceptable daily limit.' Nevertheless, in 2011, 26% of Coke's shareholders voted to approve a resolution that would remove BPA from Coke can linings.