BOTTLED DRINKING WATER-THE SAFETY ISSUE

Is not this world really crazy? First, one creates a scare about some thing and then an entrepreneur comes out with a solution! Who is benefited? Of course the industry. For example, the fears about the health of children make all parents nervous, fearing that inappropriate foods may harm their children as they grow. In comes a bevy of products claiming that consuming them will make the child grow faster, taller, more intelligent and more athletic! Vow! parents fall over each other to be seen buying these products though there is hardly any scientific evidence to support the outlandish claims of these peddlers! This blogger is provoked by the sorry situation that exists in almost all countries of the world about the safety of drinking water leading to its exploitation by the bottled water industry for beefing up their bottom line. In India also this industry is flourishing under the very nose of a democratic government where right to affordable food, safe water and pure air is enshrined in the constitution. Yet no water supply in any parts of the country is safe and water borne diseases are common among population which cannot buy expensive water treatment gadgets or spend costly fuels to boil it. Can any one believe that in India cost of bottled water is almost same as that of soft drinks! Now that bottled water has established itself as a standard item of family purchase, its negative impact on the health of citizens is coming out. Here is a report on this issue which is considered mundane by many people though reality is some thing else.   

"Plastic water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate. When heated, the material releases the chemicals antimony and bisphenol A, commonly called BPA. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said BPA is not a major concern at low levels found in beverage containers, it continues to study the chemical's impacts. Some health officials, including those at the Mayo Clinic, say the say the chemical can cause negative effects on children's health. And antimony is considered a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization. UF soil and water science professor Lena Ma led a research team that studied chemicals released in 16 brands of bottled water kept at 158 degrees Fahrenheit for four weeks, what researchers deemed a "worst-case scenario" for human consumption".

Packaging water in plastic bottles and sachet is so common that consumers take it for granted that nothing is wrong with it. It is well known that except for glass and stainless steel, all other packaging materials are not "content-neutral", ie the packaging materials do cause leaching of some of its constituents: many of them can be harmful beyond a limit. According to the above report plastic bottles being used by many bottlers can cause migration of Antimony, a heavy metal and bis-Phenol A, both of them with health damaging potential, especially to growing children and this leaching out becomes more extensive if the water is exposed to higher temperatures that prevail in many tropical countries. What is scary is the long term effect of consuming such water over a long period on the future generations if health authorities do not revisit this area immediately.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE BPA "CIRCUS"-INDUSTRY LOBBY WINS!

After postponing a decision on banning Bis-phenol A (BPA) several times, the USFDA has come out at last with a tame declaration that existing data would be inadequate to justify any ban on this chemical which finds its way to foods through feeding bottles and other containers and packings. To add insult to injury, this agency has made a non-binding suggestion that children may not be exposed too much to BPA tainted foods till adequate scientific data emerge regarding its absolute safety.

"Reporting from Washington - The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the safety of a controversial chemical found in some baby bottles, children's drinking cups and other food containers merited further study but did not warrant immediate restrictions on its use. The FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and other health agencies have committed $30 million to studying the health effects of bisphenol A, or BPA, and expect results in 18 to 24 months. "We have some concern, meaning in part that we need to know more," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a conference call with reporters. In the meantime, the agency has issued guidance for limiting the exposure of children and babies. FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said that for the present, "the FDA does support the use of baby bottles with BPA."

What about the views from FDA on safety of BPA? "But because BPA was classified years ago as an indirect food additive, it is not subject to the kind of scrutiny that other chemicals are. Without critical data about BPA, it is impossible to regulate the chemical, officials said. BPA, first manufactured in 1891, was later developed as a plasticizer in the early 1960s. It was classified in 1963 as an indirect food additive and is listed among some 3,000 chemicals that are "generally regarded as safe." That designation exempts them from scrutiny. According to the FDA's regulations, a substance that is granted that status is not subject to FDA review. So, while the agency can broadcast its opinion that the chemical is not safe, it can't compel companies to provide certain information about the chemical".

What is baffling is that 90% of the processors who were using packing materials like Poly carbonates earlier have stopped using them voluntarily responding to consumer concern while the food safety agency is not unduly bothered about it. In a clear strategy to buy more time, obviously favoring the industry, a research project has been suggested, that too funded by the government! USA must be the most favorable place for business in this planet because of such "friendly" gestures from the government, even though it is at the cost of the citizen and the exchequer.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com