Industry discusses BPA ban strategies

WASHINGTON, May 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. soft drink industry is planning a public relations campaign to counter fears of a chemical used in can linings, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The newspaper said it had obtained internal notes of a private meeting in Washington last week among representatives of the can manufacturing industry, Coca-Cola Co., lobbyists and others, in which they discussed crafting a publicity and lobbying push to counter efforts to ban the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA.

BPA, which is added to plastics and can linings used in food packaging, has been linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems in laboratory animals, the Post said.

Quoting notes from the meeting, the newspaper said strategies discussed included "using fear tactics (e.g. 'Do you want to have access to baby food anymore?') as well as giving control back to consumers (e.g. you have a choice between the more expensive product that is frozen or fresh or foods packaged in cans) as ways to dissuade people from choosing BPA-free packaging."

"We had discussions about whether people really understand what the ramifications would be if BPA were eliminated and alternatives aren't in place," industry lobbyist Kathleen Roberts told the Post.