Phthalates and the Feminisation of Boys: BPF Responds to Press Coverage

On 16th November, the Daily Mail, Telegraph, BBC and other media gave significant coverage to a study by Dr Shanna Swan of the University of Rochester, New York, that linked phthalates in plastics with the feminisation of baby boys.

The BPF immediately wrote to the Daily Mail, Telegraph and BBC to urge caution when assessing the results of the study as it was based on a small sample size and questionable methodology. Furthermore its results flew in the face of the body of scientific evidence on the safety of phthalates. Within hours the BBC had amended the article on their website to include BPF comments and a link to the BPF website.

The BPF response to the Daily Mail is shown below...