Is plastic dangerous?

Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is found in polycarbonate plastics — the hard, clear plastics often used for food and beverage containers, in baby bottles and even as a lining for canned foods.

Trace amounts of BPA can leach from the plastic into the food, and from there into our bodies, said Jeffrey Peters, Penn State professor of molecular toxicology. This is worrisome, he explained, because scientific studies have shown that lab rats fed or injected with BPA were more likely to have health problems. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that humans with high BPA levels in their urine were more likely to be obese or diabetic. Should we ditch the plasticware?

“BPA is definitely a concern,” said Peters, “but, as of right now, the data are not complete enough to establish a cause and effect between the use of these plastics and the onset of disease,” he cautioned.

Read the full article at Penn State Live