On April 2, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on its proposal for a high-level of fluoride (0.7 ppm down from 0.8 ppm) in bottled water. The reduction of 0.1 ppm is FDA’s effort to help reduce rampant dental fluorosis! That same day, CNN published the first, and a remarkably good, report on FDA’s proposal titled FDA proposes new fluoride standard for bottled water, but some say it’s still too high. The discussion in the article put the issue into context: not on dental fluorosis, but on fluoride’s neurotoxicity.

According to CNN’s report:

• “Given that fluoride can damage brain development, I would recommend that the maximum fluoride concentration in bottled water be kept at a lower level than 0.7 mg/L,” Dr. Philippe Grandjean, an adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, wrote in an email.

• Christopher Neurath, research director of the American Environmental Health Studies Project, which is connected to the Fluoride Action Network, an environmental advocacy group, said “currently, there are rapidly increasing scientific studies showing neurotoxicity to fluoride,” with research showing a direct link between children’s IQ and their level of fluoride exposure in the womb: “That is our largest concern.”

• … Neurath said: “The proposed rule is not adequate.”

See also

• A FDA memorandum from July 28, 2016 titled, Teleconference related to fluoride in bottled water, which was in FDA’s docket for this issue.

• To access FDA’s proposal of April 3, 2019, click on Federal Register.

• To access the docket, or for submitting a comment, go to https://www.regulations.gov/, and search for docket: FDA-2018-N-1815 -Then click on “Open Docket Folder.” You can check out to the comments that have been submitted or submit a comment.

• Public comments on the proposal are due on or by June 3.

Below is an index of the articles on FDA’s proposal. We will continue to update them on a regular basis.