The federal government has decided to add the synthetic sex hormone bisphenol A on Canada’s list of toxic substances. This shift is likely to lead to a ban on the sale of baby bottles containing BPA and BPA reductions in canned infant formula.

Starting today, Canada is the first country to categorize as risky BPA, the organic compound used in many food and drink packaging applications, making plastic hard.

In April, when the National Toxicology Program released a draft report voicing concern about the chemical, a debate was started. Beginning that month, several important corporations, such as Wal-Mart and Babies “R” Us, stopped manufacturing products containing the controversial chemical.

The decision to list BPA a hazardous substance was published in the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada. The change comes half a year after Canadian Minister of Health Tony Clement made known his plans to forbid the use of the hormone-disrupting chemical.

"The Canadian government remains the only national government in the world to take decisive action against bisphenol A. That has been noticed around the world," said Dr. Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, a Toronto-based environmental health group.

BPA production has reached around 7 billion pounds each year worldwide. A prohibition would have disastrous effects on thousands of businesses. In spite of government experts’ claims, which say the chemical has negative effects on human health, the plastics industry sustained that bisphenol A doesn’t induce toxicity in humans at typical levels of contact.