A plastic used in baby bottles, water bottles and as a liner in tin cans could be leaching cancer causing agents into the food supply, the United States government has announced.

The chemical known as BPA (Bisphenol A) has caused concern for neural and behavioural effects in fetuses, infants and children at certain levels of exposures.

The report prepared by the US National Institutes of Health National Toxicology Program said that their findings were based on the effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland and development of young females in puberty.

The report casts doubt on the assertions from the FDA that the chemical BPA is safe.

On Friday the Canadian Government took an opposite view and declared BPA as potentially unsafe and harmful to infants. Canadian retailers had already begun pulling the plastic containers from their shelves in anticipation of the government announcement.

Health Minister, Tony Clement, said the government was taking “precautionary actions.”

A draft report by Health Canada found the chemical can endanger infants and the environment, said Clement.

“We have concluded that it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Clement told an Ottawa news conference.

The proposed plan is to ban the importation, sale and advertising of polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA. The chemical isn’t been immediately banned. The Minister announced that Canadians could participate in consultations over the next 60 days, after which the government would take a year to issue a report on the final measures it would take to deal BPA.

Canada has become the first nation to address the problems that may be associated with BPA.

In the United States the FDA has said the possibility of PBA may impact human development cannot be dismissed. “More research is needed,” the agency said.

Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said the National Institutes of Health report called into question that the FDA’s position that the chemical BPA was safe.

“I hope the FDA is willing to reconsider their position on BPA for the safety of our infants and children,” he said.

Containers containing PBA are marked with a 7 rating stamped on the bottom of all plastic bottles. They can also be distinguished by the fact that they are a rigid plastic as apposed to the softer feel of most beverage bottles.