A week before the Olympic games kick off in Paris, France has recalled a line of Olympics-themed water bottles for children.
According to Rappel Conso, the official consumer recall agency, the now-recalled bottles contain unsafe levels of the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). A statement on the agency’s website asserts the “levels of Bisphenol A are not in line with regulations” on the chemical.
The bottles, which were made by the Vilac Company, have an image of the Olympic rings and either the flame or the Paris Olympics mascot. They were released in August 2023 and had been sold until last month.
BPA has been widely used in making food containers and other plastics since the 1950s. However, in recent years, it’s been the subject of multiple safety investigations, as research has demonstrated that it can seep into food. If products containing BPA are warmed, the chemical may be released more easily.
While the chemical is legal in the United States, Olympics host country France banned the use of BPA in products meant for children in 2013, then banned them completely in 2015. The move was over concerns about its links to infertility and certain cancers, as well as it being a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it impacts the body’s hormone production and regulation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been looking more closely at BPA, too. In 2012, the organization amended regulations on the chemical to disallow its use in children’s products like sippy cups and baby bottles. The following year, it was banned from packaging on infant formula.
Still, while petitions have been brought by groups like Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund, Consumer Reports, the Endocrine Society, the Environmental Working Group, and Healthy Babies Bright Futures, asking the FDA to reassess the safety of BPA, the organization has veered away from broader restrictions.
For that reason, some states have issued their own restrictions on the use of the chemical in food containers and other products. California requires warning labels on products containing BPA under Proposition 65. Likewise, as consumers have grown more aware of the potential ill effects of BPA, there’s been a push for more BPA-free products.
Authorities are advising anyone who purchased one of the recalled Olympics-themed water bottles to return it to its place of purchase.