I hate to be cynical but I think I can see where this is going.
A food safety bill with broad bipartisan support and poised to become law is suddenly being opposed by food industry and business groups. Why? Because of a recently added amendment to ban BPA from food packaging. (More from the Washington Post)
Food packagers think we should wait two more years for the FDA to complete its investigation before deciding whether or not to remove BPA from the food supply. They argue that the evidence against BPA is based on a small number of flawed, biased studies. Read more from the International Food Information Council.
Consumer advocates and health researchers argue that when there is as much reasonable cause for concern as there is for BPA, the substance should not be “innocent until proven guilty” but rather “off the shelf until proven innocent.”
Should the food industry control food safety legislation? Of course not. Yet I predict the amendment will ultimately be removed. But perhaps this is something the market can take care of for itself.
Consumer concern over high fructose corn syrup has led manufacturers to begin removing HFCS from their products and replacing it with cane sugar. (Personally, I don’t think this accomplishes very much but that’s a different post.) Some manufacturers are similarly responding to the BPA concern with BPA-free packaging. And whether or not the amendment goes through, a lot of consumers are already voting with their dollars.
See also: BPA: Which foods are safe?