News Advisory
Scientific Panel Evaluates Soy Formula
Safety
|
| What: |
Members of the media are invited to attend
a press availability period at noon on Friday, December
18, 2009 that will follow a scientific meeting evaluating
the safety of soy infant formula. An independent panel
of 14 scientists will evaluate the most current research
on soy infant formula to determine whether exposure to
soy infant formula is a risk to human development. The
expert panel will also indentify data gaps and research
needs. The panel is convened by the Center for the Evaluation
of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) of the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and
the National Toxicology Program (NTP). |
| Why: |
Soy formula is fed to infants as a supplement
or replacement for human milk or cow milk. Soy infant formula
contains isoflavones such as genistein, daidzein, and glycitein.
These isoflavones are naturally occurring plant estrogens,
or phytoestrogens, found at relatively high levels in soybeans
and some other plants that can mimic the effects of estrogen
in the body. The panel will review available evidence to
determine if phytoestrogens in soy infant formula adversely
affects human development. The panel will report its findings
to the NTP.
The NTP convened a panel in 2006 to evaluate soy formula
and genistein. The NTP did not complete the evaluation
or issue a final opinion on this topic. Since 2006, a substantial
number of new publications have been published for these
substances, therefore NTP CERHR determined that an updated
evaluation of soy formula is needed before NTP could develop
its opinion on this topic. The panel will use all available
information to issue new levels of concern conclusions
about soy formula. |
| When: |
Wednesday, December 16, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. EST
(Time is set aside on December 16 for oral public comments,
limited to seven minutes per speaker or organization.)
Thursday, December 17, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
Friday, December 18, 8:30 a.m. to noon EST
Press Availability: Friday, December 18, 2008, approximately
noon to 1:00 p.m. EST. |
| Where: |
The Hilton Alexandria Old Town
1767 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Tel: 1–703–837–0440
http://www.alexandriahilton.com/ |
| More Information: |
The meeting is open to the public and the
media. Details about the meeting, including panelists and
agenda, are posted on the NTP Web site at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/genistein-soy/SoyFormulaUpdt/SoyFormula-mtg.html. |
| Contact: |
Media interested in attending the meeting
or the press availability can contact Robin Mackar at 919-541-0073
or e-mail your request to rmackar@niehs.nih.gov. |
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is an interagency program
established in 1978. The program was created as a cooperative effort
to coordinate toxicology testing programs within the federal government,
strengthen the science base in toxicology, develop and validate
improved testing methods, and provide information about potentially
toxic chemicals to health, regulatory, and research agencies, scientific
and medical communities, and the public. The NTP is headquartered
at the NIEHS. For more information about the NTP, visit
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov.
The NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the
environment on human health and is part of the NIH. For more information
on environmental health topics, visit our Web site at http://www.niehs.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |
