Sometimes an obscure lobbying fight tells a larger story. This phenomenon is playing out right now on the unlikely issue of infant formula—and the broader, disturbing lesson is how hard it is to take even the most common-sense steps to save taxpayer dollars.

Infant formula is big business, and formula makers’ biggest customer by far is the federal government. More than half of U.S. formula sales come through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides it free. In fiscal 2009, formula accounted for $850 million of WIC’s $7.3 billion budget.

Starting in 2002, formula makers began to offer products with additives—docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA)—to replicate fatty acids in breast milk. Not surprisingly, these formulas cost more. The Agriculture Department, which oversees WIC, allowed state programs to decide what formula to buy. Not surprisingly, formula makers lobbied states to spring for the souped-up versions.

And, perhaps not coincidentally, when WIC was reauthorized in 2004, Congress tucked in language telling states that when soliciting bids for infant formula, they could not require manufacturers to include or omit specific ingredients.

You can guess what happened next: Formula makers began submitting bids only for the costlier products. A February 2010 Agriculture Department study pegged the added cost at $91 million annually, more than a tenth of the infant formula budget. Now new formulas with even more ingredients—and even higher prices—are being offered through WIC.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's insistence that a sweeping food safety bill include a ban on bisphenol A, a chemical widely used to line food cans, threatens a top White House priority.

The California Democrat contends that any legislation aimed at protecting food safety should include limits on the compound, known as BPA.

If she succeeds, the food and chemical industries have promised to defeat the food safety bill, which would expand the powers of the Food and Drug Administration over food processing and production to prevent food contamination, trace outbreaks and enforce recalls.

The California Assembly recently passed a ban on the chemical similar to the one Feinstein wants nationwide.

"No chemical should be used in food products until it is proved safe," Feinstein said.

BPA is integral to the epoxy resins used to line metal food cans and lids of glass jars, as well as reusable clear plastic water and baby bottles.

Feinstein cites studies claiming a link between BPA, which can mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen, to "precocious puberty" in American girls, who are developing breasts at about age 9 1/2 - about a year earlier than prior generations.

When a bill to ban a common plastic additive in feeding products for young children passed the Assembly on July 1, it marked a milestone in state legislative efforts to regulate bisphenol A.

The ban's supporters point to studies linking the chemical, found in hard plastic containers such as baby bottles and in the lining of food and beverage cans, with numerous adverse health effects, especially in infants and young children.

The bill, SB 797, was defeated last year in the Assembly. In 2008, a similar bill written by another state senator also failed.

But Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, the bill's author, asked for another vote this year, and this time it passed 43-31. Mostly Republicans opposed it, along with a few Democrats, including Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont.

"I'm thrilled. This was a real David and Goliath fight," said Pavley, referring to what she called a battle over the bill with industry lobbyists.

It calls for a ban on the chemical by January 2012 in feeding products designed for children aged 3 and under, such as sippy cups, bottles and baby food jars. It also bans BPA in all infant formula starting July 2012.

The bill heads back the state Senate, where it already passed, for a reconciliation vote in August. If approved again there, it goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the weeks ahead, Pavley's staff expects intense lobbying by industry groups opposed to the bill.

Green to Grow (baby bottles)--AVAILABLE HERE

For 20+ years, scientists have proven the harmful effects of bisphenol-A (BPA), a synthetic estrogen found in everyday products. [figure correction]

According to experts if you have been living in Europe or the US it is highly probable that you have BPA in your system as 90% of Europeans and Americans have detectable amounts.

Plus 3,175 million tons of BPA are produced annually, an alarming rise according to a petrochemical consulting firm Chemical Market Associates, Inc.'s (CMAI) figures when only 2.8 million tons was produced globally in 2002.

These tons of BPA ends up in a number of consumer goods including polycarbonate plastic products (reusable water bottles, sippy cups, leftover containers, baby bottles, toys), the lining of canned foods, baby formula and beverages, pizza boxes and other fast food containers, non-metal dental fillings, thermal paper (receipts), some medical devices and even leached into beaches' sand and water.

Here are some tips to limit your BPA exposure:

• Avoid drinking canned sodas, beers.
• Opt for bottled waters and other plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom and avoid those with PC or #7.
• Wash plastics by hand or on the top shelf of your dishwasher.
• Do not microwaves plastics.
• Eat fresh foods as much as possible and avoid canned foods (especially pasta, meats and soups).
• Try to stay away from receipts (sometimes it can be emailed) and carbonless paper, if you handle a large amount of receipts wash your hands often and try wearing gloves.

The secret is out: the toxic chemicals industry is designing a PR campaign for survival! Bisphenol A in baby bottles, water bottles, and food cans. Formaldehyde in furniture. Phthalates in air fresheners, soft plastics, and fragrances. The manufacturers of these chemicals are not taking the push for regulation lying down (despite their public claims of support for safety). Don’t be duped!

View the video the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition created to galvanize public support for Congressional action, and have fun with a pretty serious issue. The characters you will meet in the video are cartoons, but the plot is ripped straight from the headlines. (Just go to the industry funded “Coalition for Chemical Safety” or read one of Richard Dennison's exposes and you’ll see what we mean.)

Chemicals aren’t sitting still – and neither should we!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning parents to be vigilant about keeping children away from open windows - screens or not. With energy prices up and the economy down, it seems more parents have been opening windows this summer because there are more kids accidentally falling out of them.

The CPSC reports that in recent weeks, several children have fallen from windows around the US.

"Window falls increase dramatically during the spring and summer months but they can be prevented," said Chrissy Cianflone, Director of Programs for Safe Kids USA. "It takes active supervision on the part of the parent or caregiver, and a device called a window guard. Screens are meant to keep bugs out, not kids in. Window guards are easy to install and have a release mechanism in the event of an emergency."

On average, about eight deaths occur yearly to children five years or younger while an estimated 3,300 children five and younger are treated each year in U.S. hospital emergency departments. Hospitalization was required for about 34 percent of these children after falling from a window, says the CPSC. This is why they rate windows as one of the "Top 5 Home Hazards."

The CPSC recommends the following safety tips:

Low-level exposure in the womb to the plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can harm testicular function into adulthood, according to a new study from Auburn University that adds to the growing list of concerns about the ubiquitous chemical. The results were presented yesterday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting.

"We are seeing changes in the testis function of rats after exposure to BPA levels that are lower than what the FDA and EPA consider safe exposure levels for humans," said Benson Akingbemi, the study's lead author. "This is concerning because large segments of the population, including pregnant and nursing mothers, are exposed to this chemical."

BPA, found in many plastic products such as drink bottles, acts in a similar manner as the female sex hormone estrogen and has been linked to female infertility. It is present in placental tissue and is able to pass from a mother into her breast milk.

In the new study, Akingbemi and colleagues saw the effects of BPA at the cellular level; specifically in Leydig cells (Leydig cells are responsible for testosterone secretion). Akingbemi explained that the process of testosterone secretion was decreased in the male offspring of female rats that received BPA during pregnancy and while nursing.

For the study, the mothers were fed BPA in olive oil at a dose of either 2.5 or 25 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight. The daily upper limit of safe exposure for humans, according to federal guidelines, is 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. A control group of pregnant rats received olive oil without BPA.

The investigators then studied the development of Leydig cells in the male offspring. The capacity for testosterone secretion was assessed at 21, 35 and 90 days of age. The amount of testosterone secreted per Leydig cell was found to be much lower in male offspring after early-life exposure to BPA than in offspring from control unexposed animals.

[Editor's note: See also our story 2010 Sun Essentials, and 21 of the Best Natural Sunscreens. Also, you can watch an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta who asks, "Can Sunscreen Cause Cancer?"]

'What's that harmful ingredient I should avoid?" "Which type of sunscreen should I choose?" These are frequent questions you're asking when you're in the shopping aisle, and EWG is committed to being there when it counts.

EWG has just launched a free mobile application of our 2010 Sunscreen Guide that goes anywhere with your iPhone and will help you shop smarter this vacation season. Our guide includes the current crop of more than 500 beach and sport sunscreens analyzed by EWG. Using a simple ranking system, this must-have app makes it easy to find a safe and effective sunscreen this season.

Click here to download EWG's free 2010 Sunscreen Guide iPhone app (you will have to open iTunes to download). You can browse the top rated sunscreens, search the database for specific products, and check out our sun safety tips. If you like the app, please review it and give it a "5 stars" rating on iTunes.

Don't have an iPhone? Don't worry; we have two other ways you can take our 2010 Sunscreen Guide with you:

• Download our sunscreen and sun safety tips PDF here.
   

• Donate $10 today, and we'll send you a free EWG's 2010 Sunscreen Guide bag tag that you can clip onto your reusable shopping bag.

We are committed to providing you with the information you need to make healthy choices for yourself and your family, whether you are at home or on the go. Thanks to a generous donor, EWG was able to develop this iPhone application, aimed at saving you time during this busy season. We hope you'll give it a try!

Sincerely,

Ken Cook
President, Environmental Working Group

The Environmental Working Group is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to using the power of information to protect human health and the environment. The EWG Action Fund is a legislative advocacy organization that uses EWG research to promote healthy and sustainable policies.

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CONFIDENTIAL emails reveal Australia's food regulator discussed hiding from the Federal Government international warnings about a potentially dangerous chemical used in plastic bottles.

The chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), is found in plastic packaging. Latest research in the US says it may harm brain development and the prostate gland.

Australian stores last week began a voluntary phase-out of plastic baby bottles containing the substance, but Food Standards Australia New Zealand has long declared it safe.

A draft report to Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mark Butler includes comments indicating that the agency considered covering up international concerns.

"Maybe too sensitive for the Minister to see," one comment says. Another comment, on industry moves to phase out products containing BPA, warns: "Would delete this - we do not want to be encouraging withdrawal of something we deem safe."

The emails were written in January, at the same time as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched new research into the safety of products containing BPA.

Bill Could Be on Governor's Desk by End of Summer

The health of California’s children was represented today in Sacramento when a majority of the State Assembly voted to remove the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers designed for children 3 and younger.

Forty-three lawmakers voted to pass the “Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act” (SB 797) originally authored by State Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica). Pavley’s bill, which was already approved by the Senate, now goes back to the upper chamber for a final procedural vote where it is expected to pass before heading to the Governor for his consideration.

Senator Pavley authored the legislation in response to mounting scientific evidence that exposure to even very low levels of BPA can impact health. More than 200 scientific studies show that BPA exposure, particularly during early infancy, is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects later in life, including breast and prostate cancer, birth defects, infertility in men, early puberty in girls, diabetes and obesity.

The main route of exposure in humans is from food and beverage containers where BPA leaches from the hard plastic.

“The chemical industry may have had the money, but science and the public’s concern for children’s health came out on top today,” said the director of EWG’s California office, Renee Sharp. “California parents are closer than ever to that day when they won’t have to worry if their babies and toddlers are ingesting BPA.”

For this report, Women’s Voices for the Earth compiled 37 peer-reviewed scientific studies, and highlighted the chemicals that pose significant risk: phthalates and synthetic musks. Phthalates have been associated with hormone disruption, sperm damage, birth defects and feminization of boys. Synthetic musks have been found to enhance the effects of other chemicals entering the body.