(Press-News.org) Note to journalists: Please credit the journal or the American Chemical Society as publisher of this report.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2010 — For the first time in the United States, researchers are reporting in a peer-reviewed scientific journal today detection of Bisphenol A (BPA) in fresh and canned food as well as food wrapped in plastic packaging. The amounts in the limited sample, however, were almost 1,000 times lower than the "tolerable daily intake" levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Their report appears online in the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology.
Arnold J. Schecter and colleagues note that BPA is used in lining metal cans and in polycarbonate plastics such as baby bottles, although some manufacturers are switching to BPA-free products. "In humans, BPA is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and male sexual dysfunction in exposed workers," they state. "Food is a major exposure source. We know of no studies reporting BPA in U.S. fresh food, canned food, and food in plastic packaging in peer reviewed journals."
To fill that gap in scientific knowledge, the scientists measured BPA levels in 105 human, cat, and dog foods. They detected BPA in 63 of 105 human food samples from grocery stores in Dallas, and present a detailed list of foods, brands, and BPA levels in the text of the study. The levels were lower than the 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight standard used by EPA and EFSA and comparable to levels detected in the past. Schecter noted that some studies have shown adverse effects associated with exposure to BPA at lower doses. "Further research is indicated to determine BPA levels in U.S. food in larger, representative sampling," the report said.
###
The report acknowledged funding from Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation.
ACS' Environmental Science and Technology
"Bisphenol A (BPA) in U.S. Food"
EDITOR'S NOTE: Journalists can a copy of the study from m_bernstein@acs.org.
CONTACT:
Arnold J. Schecter. M.D., MPH
University of Texas School of Public Health
Dallas, Texas 75390
Tel: 214 648 1096
Fax: 214 648 1081
Email: arnold.schecter@utsouthwestern.edu
The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
END
A team of scientists from Japan and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created a new mouse model that confirms that mutations of a protein called beta-synuclein promote neurodegeneration. The discovery creates a potential new target for developing treatments of diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
The work is published in today's issue of Nature Communications. Lead author is Makoto Hashimoto of the Division of Chemistry and Metabolism, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, with colleagues including Eliezer Masliah, MD, professor ...
A Spontaneous Self-Reference Effect in Memory: Why Some Birthdays Are Harder to Remember Than Others (http://pss.sagepub.com/content/21/10/1525.abstract)
Selin Kesebir and Shigehiro Oishi
People may have a better memory for birthdays that are closer to their own: Volunteers recalling their friends' birthdays tended to remember birthdays that were closer to their own than birthdays that were farther away from their own birthday. In a separate experiment, after reading brief biographies of people they did not know, volunteers correctly remembered the birthdays of the ...
In an article published in November 3 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Chad Boult, MD, MPH, MBA, professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, calls for key improvements to primary care in order to improve the health of the nation's most costly patients—older adults with multiple chronic conditions. Boult and his co-author, G. Darryl Wieland, PhD, MPH, research director of Geriatrics Services at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, Columbia, South Carolina, evaluated studies of new primary care ...
WORCESTER, Mass. – A potentially life-threatening challenge characterized by pauses in breathing that can last for more than 20 seconds, apnea of prematurity (AOP) affects more than 50 percent of premature infants and is almost universal in the smallest of preemies. Caused in part by an underdeveloped central nervous system that can't adequately regulate breathing outside of the womb, especially during sleep, AOP is not yet fully understood by scientists and remains a grave concern among neonatologists and parents alike. New research published in the October issue of Pediatrics ...
A new material with a split personality -- part superconductor, part metal -- has been observed by a Princeton University-led research team. The discovery may have implications for the development of next-generation electronics that could transform the way information is stored and processed.
The new material -- a crystal called a topological superconductor -- has two electronic identities at once. At very low temperatures, the interior of the crystal behaves like a normal superconductor, able to conduct electricity with zero resistance. At the same time, the surface ...
NEW YORK (November 2, 2010) -- For patients with the most common form of hepatitis C being treated for the first time, the addition of an investigational hepatitis C–specific protease inhibitor called telaprevir to the current standard therapy markedly improved their sustained viral response (SVR or viral cure) rate.
The lead investigator reporting the results of the ADVANCE trial is Dr. Ira M. Jacobson, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and the Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor ...
The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Water Resources Research (WRR), and Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres (JGR-D).
1. Toxic levels of chemicals found kilometers from Gulf spill site
Oil contains compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which can be toxic. These compounds were released into the water during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which was larger than any previously studied release of oil. The impacts of the oil spill on marine life are not ...
Turns out the high school guidance counselor was right. Students who have high aspirations and put thought into their futures during their high school years tend to reach higher levels of educational attainment, according to a recent study.
And what's a significant factor in those goals and expectations taking shape in the first place? It matters if teens are involved in extracurricular activities -- whether it's football, fine arts or French club.
The research, by Sarah Beal and Lisa Crockett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, surveyed hundreds of high school students ...
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have developed two strategies to ward off cattle fever ticks that are crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. These ticks transmit bovine babesiosis, commonly known as Texas cattle fever, a deadly disease of cattle that's caused by singled-celled organisms.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Kerrville, Texas, are developing and testing new interventions to eliminate cattle fever ticks within U.S. borders and mitigate the impact on the livestock industry. ARS is USDA's principal ...
Women now dominate the field of veterinary medicine — the result of a nearly 40-year trend that is likely to repeat itself in the fields of medicine and law.
That's the conclusion of a new study that found three factors that appear to be driving the change: the 1972 federal amendment that outlaws discrimination against female students; male applicants to graduate schools who may be deterred by a growing number of women enrolling; and the increasing number of women earning Bachelor's degrees in numbers that far exceed those of male graduates, says sociologist Anne E. Lincoln.
An ...
