WASHINGTON (CN) - The Natural Resources Defense Council chose the wrong venue to force Food and Drug Administration regulation of bisphenol A, or BPA, in food additives, the D.C. Circuit ruled.
Exposure to BPA has been linked to various forms of cancer, reproductive toxicity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, the NRDC claimed in its citizen petition to the FDA in 2008.
The petition asked the agency to revoke any regulations that permit the use of the food additive.
When the agency failed to respond, the group tried to force a response in 2010 with a new petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
A three-judge panel from that court rejected the group's claim Friday for a lack of jurisdiction, agreeing with the FDA's argument that citizen petitions are heard in District Court under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
"Accordingly, because the NRDC cannot show that jurisdiction over its citizen petition lies exclusively in this court, or that all final FDA action on its petition would be directly and exclusively reviewable in this court, we dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction," Judge Judith Rogers wrote for the court.
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