A panel of experts has issued a report against the Food and Drug Administration, criticizing the agency for having overlooked significant evidence about bishpenol A safety.

"When we looked at the draft report, we felt that it was incomplete in a few very important aspects," said a member of the scientific advisory board, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, M.D.

In response to the criticism, U.S. health regulators said the draft report issued in August, which said that BPA levels in baby bottles and other household products were safe, was based on “all available evidence.”

"We need to get that clear: we did not ignore studies. We looked at all the studies," said Norris Alderson, Associate Commissioner for Science at the agency.

The controversial organic compound which is commonly used in baby bottles and canned foods was thought to be harmful to fetuses, infants, and children. But the FDA said the plastic industry was right when it claimed that the chemical, a synthetic estrogen resembling the natural hormone with the same name, didn’t induce toxicity in humans at typical levels of exposure.

Earlier in April, when the National Toxicology Program released a draft report raising concern about the hormone-disrupting chemical, a debate was started. Since then, several major corporations, such as Wal-Mart and Babies “R” Us, stopped manufacturing products containing BPA.

A couple of weeks ago, the Government of Canada has decided to add bisphenol A on the country’s list of toxic substances, saying the chemical posed an immediate health risk to the public. This shift is likely to lead to a ban on the sale of baby bottles containing BPA and BPA reductions in canned infant formula.