Confusion continues to swirl over the danger – or lack thereof – of products containing BPA, or Bisphenol A. A survey recently released by the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) at George Mason University found that media reports of alleged health risks associated with the chemical BPA were seriously misleading. Furthermore, STATS accused those reports of causing “unnecessary public anxiety.”


The study states that the BPA panic has been unnecessarily encouraged by the media, which “…ignored the extensive research of respected scientists and major health agencies in the United States and around the world, which found BPA was not only safe but played an important role in ensuring food safety.”


Specific media outlets – the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal in particular – were accused of feeding the panic by reporting views from unreliable sources and ignoring the results of European Union’s Food Safety Authority, which found no threat in BPA products. “Expert panels” in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark also reportedly found no threat from BPA.


Of course, the STATS report comes on the heels of a study that supports the media’s BPA alarm. A study released last month by the Harvard School of Public Health entitled “Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations” concluded that one week of polycarbonate bottle use increased urinary BPA concentrations by 69%. The study found that “regular consumption of cold beverages from polycarbonate bottles is associated with a substantial increase in urinary BPA concentrations irrespective of exposure to BPA from other sources.”