EU to ban chemical in baby bottles

Bisphenol A ban to take effect from mid-2011, but campaigners say more needs to be done.

The widely-used chemical bisphenol A will be banned from baby bottles from the middle of next year, European Union regulators decided yesterday.

National government experts meeting as the standing committee on the food chain and animal health voted in favour of the ban, following a proposal from the European Commission. The ban will take effect from mid-2011.

John Dalli, the European commissioner for health and consumer policy, described the ban as “good news for European parents”. France and Denmark have already taken action to ban the chemical from baby bottles.

But chemical campaigners said that the EU had not gone far enough. Lisette van Vliet of the Health and Environment Alliance said in a statement: “We are pleased that BPA will be banned in baby bottles in 2011, but this is not enough. BPA should come out of all food contact materials so that babies are not exposed before birth.”

Bisphenol A is one of the world’s most commonly-used chemicals, found in food containers, medical equipment and mobile-phone casings. But concerns have grown about its effects on human health when it is ingested into the body via contact with bottles, tin cans and tableware.