France Bans Bisphenol A in Devices on Maternity and Neonatal Units and Food Packaging

The French government has passed a law which will forbid the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in any food packaging, tubes and containers as well as medical devices for pregnant women, new born babies and neonatals in France. The law will take effect from January 1, 2015.

By July 2014, the French government will submit to parliament a report assessing possible alternatives to BPA for industrial applications. The ban will apply from 2013 for food containers intended for children under three years (including flanges nipples and pacifiers). The text has also extended the ban on BPA in baby bottles, in force since 2010, the maternity and neonatal units who had escaped the prohibition. The bill was finally passed by the Senate December 13, 2012.

Medical Plastics News would like to thanks Sylvie Ponlot at French medical packaging contract manufacturer Technoflex for notification of this news.

Image courtesy of University of California Irvine. According to the university's website, the neonatal intensive care unit at the university has changed the way it cares for infants in order to reduce infections caused by intravenous catheters.