23. CHEMICALS: China details ban on baby food containers with BPA (04/22/2011)

China will stop producing and importing containers of infant food that contain the chemical bisphenol A on June 1, with the sales of such products being banned on Sept. 1.

The ban covers BPA used in anything that could contain food or drink for babies, according to a draft notice issued by China's Ministry of Health. The widely used chemical has been linked to cancer and metabolism problems and has been shown to affect babies' immune systems.

"So far, scientific research found BPA in food is at extremely low levels and there is no evidence to confirm BPA can harm people's health," the draft notice said. "But the government still decided to ban BPA as infants belong to a sensitive group."

Industrial and commercial authorities will conduct an inspection campaign once the sales ban starts.

Several local bottle producers have already taken action; Pigeon Shanghai Co. Ltd. said it had already stopped making bottles with BPA in March when a similar ban in the European Union went into effect. Almost all online vendors also say their products do not contain BPA (Wenjun/Feiran, Shanghai Daily, April 22). -- JP