A panel of environmental health, toxicology and statistics experts from three major universities, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded on Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration ignored recent studies on bisphenol-A when declaring the chemical safe.

Bisphenol-A has been under fire since April when the National Toxicology Program declared the chemical harmful. Since then, studies on the chemical began pouring, with almost all of them requiring the ban on the chemical. The controversial organic compound is commonly used in baby bottles and canned foods. The FDA in August declared BPA safe to the delight of the industry and in spite of environmentalist groups supporting the ban.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 93 percent of Americans have traces of bisphenol-A in their urine, but the quantity is not harmful.

Now the group of experts said the FDA conclusions on BPA are inadequate and flawed and it immediately needs to reevaluate the existing work on the chemical, as it has been linked to heart disease and diabetes, cancer and diseases of the immune system. Babies exposed to BPA are at higher risk as they could experience developmental problems. In fact, Norris Alderson, associate commissioner for science at the FDA said the agency will likely begin research early next year to determine the toxic effects of BPA on babies less than a month old.

However, until more research is done on the issue, people should stay away from things made on plastic.