SR0281 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0281 LRB096 12867 RPM 26659 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in many consumer products, such as baby bottles and other reusable containers made from polycarbonate plastic and in the epoxy resin coating used in most food and beverage cans, including canned infant formula; and

WHEREAS, Upon the request of the Commissioner of the United State Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FDA formed an agency-wide BPA task force to facilitate cross-agency review and evaluation of current research and new information on BPA for all FDA regulated products and to make recommendations to the Commissioner regarding actions the FDA should take next regarding BPA; and

WHEREAS, As part of its evaluation, the task force has reviewed the concerns presented in the National Toxicology Program Brief published in September 2008 by the National Institutes of Health and the concerns presented in the Canadian risk assessment released in October 2008; and

WHEREAS, The FDA has considered the research and positions of other transnational food safety organizations, including the 2 risk assessments for BPA conducted by the European Food Safety Authority's Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food and the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology; each of these documents considered the question of a possible low-dose effect and concluded that no current health risk exists for BPA at the current exposure level; and

WHEREAS, The FDA has been reviewing the emerging literature on BPA on a continuous basis; and

WHEREAS, In August 2008, the FDA released a draft safety assessment of BPA in food contact products and in October 2008, the FDA Science Board provided recommendations to the FDA to improve the safety assessment; and

WHEREAS, The FDA has reported back to the Science Board on February 24, 2009 on the progress they have made to address the Science Board recommendations; and

WHEREAS, It is altogether fitting and proper and in the public interest for us to urge the United States Food and Drug Administration to expedite their current review of bisphenol A in food containers and baby bottles; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United States Food and Drug Administration to expedite its current review of the safety of bisphenol A in products that contact food and take appropriate action based on its findings; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration and each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.