The inclusion of a ban on the controversial plastics additive bisphenol-A (BPA) is threatening passage of a federal food safety bill and prompting harsh criticism among leading Democrats. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is insisting on including a ban on BPA in the Senate version of a food safety bill that passed the House easily last year with support from both parties. BPA has been linked to cancers and other disorders and has been subjected to various regulatory restrictions around the world, although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declined to designate it a health threat. Passage of the food safety bill, which would grant the FDA sweeping new powers, was imperiled after the BPA ban sparked an outcry among food and packaging manufacturers. In a letter to Feinstein, Sen. Charles Dingell (D-Mich.) called the situation “awesomely frustrating” and said, “It would be calamitous if a bill to protect American consumers from unsafe food cannot become law this year because of controversy over a single point.”